Eternal
by wolfman5
Summary: This is the sequel to The Silver Lining. Bella and Edward's wedding is fast approaching. Can the new couple survive the complications that married life can bring? BxE. CharlieXRenee. Rated M for later.
1. Chapter 1: A Case for Vegas

Disc: I don't own Twilight

Eternal

Chapter 1: The Case for Vegas

"Bella!" Alice stamped her dainty foot. Inside the dressing room Bella sighed. A lot of their trips to the mall seemed to find Bella inside a fitting room in something Alice picked out for her and Alice on the other side of the door demanding to see it. Bridal shops were no different and they had been to at least 5 so far. She stood and gathered the dress up so that she could walk out of the dressing room. "Hmm." Alice pulled Bella up on the platform in front of the mirror and began to circle her, inspecting the dress from top to bottom. "Not quite." Bella sighed again. "Oh come on Bella. This is fun."

"It is, it just takes a long time." She looked at herself in the mirror. It was a beautiful dress, but Alice was right. It wasn't quite it. Her eyes combed over the store again and stopped on a beautiful dress. "Alice, that's it." She came down off the platform and made her way over to the dress. She gasped. It looked even better up close. The skirt was A-line and full. The strapless bodice was covered in delicate antique beading. Bella could see herself walking down the aisle and into Edward's waiting arms in this dress. She ran her hands down the bodice until she came to the price tag. "Holy, crow! 5000 dollars!" Alice came up behind her.

"But it's a really great dress."

"Alice I can't afford a 5000 dollar dress."

"Bella, that's why Edward gave us this." Alice held up Edward's credit card. "Go try it on at least." The saleswoman helped Bella get the dress down and she took it into the dressing room. Bella slid the dress over her head. Already she loved the way it felt more than any of the others. She slowly came out of the dressing room and stood up on the platform. Alice looked her over. "Amazing. Bella, this is it. The saleswoman said that she could sell you this one for 2500 because it's the display."

"I don't know," Bella said as she looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn't help, but smile. It was perfect. She felt tears spring to her eyes. It was the only perfect thing that had happened regarding this wedding so far. The rest of it had been shopping, planning seating charts, fighting Alice over the number of guests, agonizing over the menu, and dealing with…

"Bella!!" Oh, no. "Oh Bella it's beautiful!" Bella turned and forced a smile onto her mouth as she faced her high school "friend", Jessica Stanley. She had called her father back in Forks to tell him that she was engaged, which was another stress in itself, and Jessica had found out by way of small town gossip. She had since invited herself to be a bridesmaid, and Bella was sure that friend or not, if Rosalie didn't kill Jessica, she might. Angela came up next to Jessica.

"It really is beautiful, Bella," she said quietly.

"Thank you," Bella answered. "I think I will buy this." The saleswoman was quick to ring the dress up and take the credit card.

"Thank you." Alice took the dress and went back to where Bella was having a conversation with Jessica.

"I know that Alice is really excited about planning this and I understand that she's your maid of honor, but Ange and I are bridesmaids too and we should get some kind of say." Bella stared at Jessica. Did self-invited bridesmaids get a say.

"I think that things are fine with the wedding."

"Well, it mostly is, but the flowers…" Alice joined them.

"What's wrong with the flowers. Bella said she liked the flowers." Bella nodded.

"I do like them." Jessica wrinkled her nose.

"But roses?"

"I like roses," Bella said softly. This was going to turn into another day with Jessica. All of them had been like this since Jessica had come into Seattle. Jessica shrugged.

"They're so plain." A low growl escaped Alice's throat.

"Let's go look at cakes!" Bella shouted, ushering them towards the door. With a flip of her hair Jessica turned and exited the store. Angela came up beside Bella and a still fuming Alice.

"I think roses are pretty." Bella smiled at her.

"Thanks, Ange. Alice, I'm sorry."

"Doesn't matter, as long as you like the flowers." Alice seemed lost in her own world. Bella sighed. Great. Her phone rang. Smiling slightly she pulled it out of her purse and answered.

"Hey sweetheart."

"Hey Bella, how is your day going?" Suddenly Bella felt like crying, though she wasn't quite sure why.

"It's going okay. I found a dress and we got flowers." Alice spun around.

"Is that Edward? Don't tell him a thing about the dress."

"Do I get to see your dress?" he asked, smiling. Bella smiled a little.

"Of course you do, on our wedding day."

"Fine. Then you don't get to see the tux I picked out. You think that it would be okay if I kidnapped you for lunch?" Bella glanced at Alice.

"I think that would be okay. We're going to look at cakes now, but lunch after that would be perfect."

"Great, give me a call when you get done. I'm going to be here all day working on this boring paper."

"Okay, I love you."

"I love you too. Have fun."

"Yeah, loads." She hung up. They had stopped in front of the cake shop. Jessica scowled.

"In here?" Alice stopped with her hand on the door.

"Yeah, what's wrong with it? Too plain?"

"I know the perfect place just a few blocks over. They made the cake for my 16th birthday."

"How nice for them. These people made my wedding cake and they did a wonderful and professional job."

"Maybe Bella should pick," Jessica snarled back. She spun and glared at Bella. Bella shook her head.

"This place is good. I like this place." Jessica stomped up to her.

"Do we get any say in this at all? You know Bella, I'm starting to think you don't want us in this wedding." Angela held up her hands and shook her head to exclude herself. Alice growled and went into the bakery. "Call me when you want help," Jessica said as she turned on her heels and stalked off. Bella sat down on the steps and put her head in her hands. She felt a hand on her should and looked up into Angela's sympathetic face.

"Ange, can you tell Alice that I'll call her later? And whatever cake she picks is fine." Angela nodded and entered the bakery. Bella pulled her phone out of her pocket and pressed one. Edward picked up quickly.

"Hey."

"Edward, I'm done."

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By the time Edward pulled up in front of the dress shop Bella was almost in hysterics. She climbed into the car. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see you!" She threw her arms around Edward and began sobbing.

"Bella, baby, what's wrong?" He kissed the top of her head.

"I've just had a bad day. It's better now that you're here."

"You want to tell me about it?" She nodded and tried to start, but found that she couldn't get any words out.

"Can I tell you when we get to wherever we're going?" He nodded and pulled away from the curb. Moments later they were in front of their apartment. "No lunch?"

"I made lunch."

"How's your paper going?"

"I had that thing done weeks ago." He came around and got her out of the car. She had more or less calmed down, but her nerves still felt frayed. "Should I carry you?"

"That would be wonderful." Smiling, he scooped her up and carried her up to their apartment. He put her down on the couch and kissed her before going to get their lunch. He came and handed her a plate then sat down next to her with his own.

"So, what happened."

"Oh, Edward. All this planning has just been really stressful. It just seems like there's so much to do and every time I think that we're getting close to done, something else comes up. And now with Jessica here… It's like she looks for ways to pick fights." Bella was sobbing again. Edward set his plate on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around her. She cried into his shoulder. "I just can't wait for this to be over. It's not that I don't want to be Mrs. Cullen, I just can't take all the fuss anymore. They almost started a war over what kind of flowers I was going to have at my wedding."

"Do you want to be more involved in the planning? I know that Alice can be a little intense and she likes to micromanage, but I'm sure if we talked to her…"

"Edward, I don't care about that. I don't want any of that. I don't mind her making the decisions, I just wish she wouldn't go so overboard with it."

"Bella, this is your wedding. What do you want?"

"I- I want to be married to you."

"Well, there is always Vegas. We could get on a plane and be there in a few hours. No fuss, no millions of guests…" A part of Bella's mind seriously considered it, but then she remembered Alice.

"I couldn't do that to her." Edward nodded.

"We'd never hear the end of it."

"I want Alice to be happy just as long as I get to be your wife at the end of it all." He stroked her hair.

"I'll talk to Alice and ask her to back off. As for Jessica, if you don't want her to be in the wedding, tell her. She doesn't have to be in it. If I get a say in any of it, I don't particularly want her there either." Bella nodded.

"I'll talk to her. Thank you, Edward. You're so sweet. And this lunch is wonderful."

"Thanks. When does Alice need you back?" Bella shrugged.

"Not before I've had my way with you." He chuckled softly. "Oh, I do have to call her first. I kind of ran out on her. I hope she's not too mad."

"She'll be okay." Bella finished her lunch then go the phone and dialed Alice.

"Hello?"

"Alice, it's Bella. I'm sorry that I just left you like that. I was feeling a little overwhelmed and I just needed to talk to Edward."

"Bella, it's okay. I understand. Can we talk about Jessica?"

"I'm going to talk to her Alice. I'm sorry. Did you find a cake?"

"I found one, but I didn't want to make any decisions without you."

"Okay. We can go look at it tomorrow. I really am sorry I just left like that."

"It's alright. I'm glad that we found a dress."

"Me too. Did you want to do anything else today?" There was silence for a moment on the other end.

"I'm going to spend some time with Jasper, but we can hit it tomorrow. Maybe just the two of us?"

"That would be fun. I'll see you tomorrow then." Alice sounded more upbeat when she answered.

"Great. Bella, don't tell Edward anything about your dress. He has a habit of prying where he shouldn't and he's very persuasive."

"I won't tell him anything. See you Alice." They hung up. Bella felt better than she had all day. Alice wasn't mad at her, she got out of wedding planning for the rest of the day, and she got to spend the rest of the day with Edward. She turned towards him with a hungry look in her eyes. She stalked towards him and straddled his lap. "Alice said you could have me for the rest of the day."

"That was nice of her." He kissed her deeply and picked her up. He began moving towards the bedroom.

"What about the dishes?" she panted.

"They're not going anywhere." He kissed her neck as he entered their bedroom and laid her down on the bed.

A/N: Here's the first part of the sequel. I have to say that I never did like Jessica in the books. Enjoy.


	2. Chapter 2: What the Future Holds

Disc: I don't own Twilight.

Chapter 2: What the Future Holds

Bella woke up to the sound of Edwards soft voice singing in the living room. She looked at the clock. 7:30 pm. Had she really slept that long? Stretching she stood up and put on her robe. She stepped into the living room and stopped short. What she saw before her sent a jolt through her heart and brought tears to her eyes. Edward was sitting on the couch cradling Rosalie and Emmet's baby, singing softly. She sighed contentedly in her sleep. Bella approached Edward. He looked up and smiled. "Hey," he whispered.

"Hey." She sat down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. "Where did she come from?"

"Em and Rosalie wanted to go out to a movie so I volunteered us to watch Becca for a few hours. I hope that's okay. You were asleep when they called and you looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you."

"It's fine. She's so cute. I love her." Bella stroked her cheek. Edward went back to singing to the baby. Bella watched him and smiled. "What's that song you're singing?"

"Something I've been working on. I'm still trying to finish it." He nodded to the sheet music laying on his piano.

"It's beautiful." He smiled softly.

"It's yours." Bella closed her eyes and listened to him for a bit longer.

"Edward?"

"Hm?"

"Have you thought about…having children?" He looked at her and for a moment he looked alarmed.

"Bella…are you-?" Bella shook her head frantically.

"No, I was just wondering if you'd thought about it." A relieved sigh escaped his lips.

"I'm sorry about my reaction." She wrapped her arms around him, being careful not to disturb Rebecca. "Back when I was dating Tanya she had me convinced for a couple of weeks that she was pregnant. I knew that I was nowhere near ready to be a father, but I was going to try. She made it completely clear that she owned me. I felt trapped, but there was nothing I could do about it. I'm not one to run away from my responsibilities." He looked into Bella's eyes and saw hurt in them. "I'm sorry." He looked down. "I didn't mean to imply that I thought you would do anything like that, I just, I still don't feel like I'm ready to be a father. I'm sorry."

"Edward, I understand what you're saying. I just think that you'd be an amazing father and I want to have children someday."

"I have thought about it. I do want to have children and I think you'll make a wonderful mother." He shifted Rebecca. "Would you like to hold her?"

"Oh, I don't know if I should."

"You'll be fine. Hold your arms out." Bella arranged her arms so that they matched Edward's. He softly placed Rebecca in her arms. "Hold her head." Bella cradled her head. "You're doing great."

"How are you so good with babies?"

"I was six when Alice was a baby."

"I love you Edward."

"I love you too." He rested his head on the top of her head.

"Are they coming back for her tonight?"

"Uh, huh. They should be back around 10. We can put her down if you want. They left a bed for her."

"She'd probably be more comfortable." Bella caught sight of their reflection in the television and smiled. She saw her family there. "Wow," she breathed. He laughed softly beside her.

"Let's worry about getting married first." He kissed her cheek. "Come on. I'll help you get her into bed." He stood and helped her up. They walked Rebecca over to her crib and laid her down.

"She didn't even wake up."

"Babies sleep through a lot. When Alice was a baby you could run a train through her room and she wouldn't even stir."

"How do you know?"

"I ran a train through her room once." Bella looked confused. "A small one. I was six, I was hoping if I bothered her enough she would decide to leave."

"Edward." Bella laughed. "What do we do now?" He shrugged.

"Wait for them to come back I guess." He pulled her back over to the couch and sat her down on his lap. "What are you going to tell Jessica?"

"I don't even know. Whatever I say she's going to hate it and I'm going to be a terrible monster of a friend."

"Are you really worried about what she thinks?"

"I don't really like Jessica, but I'm not a monster and I don't want to hurt her." He kissed her neck. She tilted her head and moaned softly.

"Just tell her that you appreciate all the help that she's been, but that you're trying to keep this event small and you really only have room for three bridesmaids."

"She'll never buy that." She leaned back against Edward.

"At least you won't have to tell her that you don't like her." His lips brushed over her jaw and he slid his hand down her side. Her breath hitched when his hand brushed over her breast.

"Edward," she whispered softly. His hand traveled lower and it took all of Bella's effort to stop him. "Edward, I've been thinking."

"Uh, oh."

"Shut up. Edward, I think that we should hold off until after we're married." He whimpered a little. "I mean, if we wait until after we're married it'll be amazing when we do it again."

"Alright. We'll do it your way." She turned so that she could face him. "You're so amazing Bella." She smiled and leaned in and kissed him. She parted her lips when she felt his tongue pressing against her lips. He ran his hands down her body again smoothly turning her so that she was straddling him. He pulled her against him and she groaned.

"Edward…" He smiled.

"Sorry," he whispered against her lips.

"Maybe we should go bake something."

"I don't bake."

"Neither do I, but we can learn." She got up and pulled him up off the couch and into the kitchen.

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Edward had just pulled the last tray of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven when there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it." He opened the door.

"Where's my baby?" Rosalie pushed past him into the room.

"She's sleeping." Emmett came up behind her.

"Are those cookies."

"Would you like some? We made plenty." Emmett whistled softly as he took in the six trays of cookies.

"What have you been- Oh wait a minute. I know this one. These are no sex cookies." Edward blushed slightly and looked around for Bella who had gone to help Rosalie get the baby up.

"What would make you think that?"

"One time Rosalie was mad at me and she wouldn't have sex with me. I made several plates full of sandwiches. So," Emmett took a bite off of a cookie, "what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. Bella wants us to wait until we're married and I'm respecting that." Emmett poked the cookie at him.

"You're going to need more pans."

Rosalie came back carrying Rebecca. "Emmett, we should get her home. She's tired. Thank you so much Edward for watching her."

"No problem. You guys have a good night." Emmett wiggled his eyebrows at Edward.

"_You_ have a good night." Edward rolled his eyes and shoved Emmett toward the door. Laughing, he followed Rosalie out.

Bella began transferring the cookies and washing the pans. "What was that about?"

"Emmett's being juvenile."

"Edward, you're okay with it right? Not having sex."

"I'm fine with it Bella." He kissed her softly then helped her finish the dishes. "We should get to bed. Alice is going to have you up early." They headed off to the bedroom.

"Not to mention the fact that I have to talk to Jess tomorrow, " Bella groaned.

"You'll be alright." Edward quickly changed into sweat pants then turned away so that Bella could change.

"You've seen me naked before."

"That was different." She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

"You can look now." He turned and wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you sure you can make it to the wedding?" She grabbed his ass before turning and crawling into bed. She turned her back to him.

"Night." He chuckled and crawled in behind her. She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Goodnight, my love." She snuggled against him and slowly drifted off to sleep.

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Bella woke up staring into Alice's dark eyes. Gasping, she sat up quickly, dumping Alice off the bed. "Hey, you didn't have to knock me off the bed."

Edward sat up. "What's going on?"

"I was coming to wake Bella up and she dumped me on the floor."

"Alice, I'm sorry," Bella started. "How did you get in?"

"I have a key. Are you ready to get started?"

"Not quite. I need breakfast and teeth brushing." Bella got out of bed. Edward sat up.

"I'll go make breakfast. Alice do you want anything?"

"As long as it's fast."

"I could go outside and catch you a cat if you'd like. Those are pretty fast."

"Be quiet. You're wasting time." He chuckled as he left the room and headed into the kitchen. Bella went into their bathroom to brush her teeth.

"So do I get to beat Jessica up today?" Alice called from the bed.

"Only if talking doesn't work." Bella emerged from the bathroom. "I swear Alice I'll talk to her."

"I hope it's soon. She called me this morning to tell me that I was going to have to redo the seating chart because the one I have is in no way going to work. She said that she understands that Rosalie is one of your bridesmaids, but she should sit somewhere else because she's going to be prettier than you and over shadow you. I told her I would get right on changing it and that I would make sure to put her on the roof."

"That really doesn't help Alice." Bella sighed and sprawled out across the bed.

"I can't help it. She's dancing on my last nerve."

"Mine too." Alice began to throw clothes on top of Bella.

"Get dressed. That cake isn't going to buy itself." Bella groaned and started digging through the clothes Alice had given her.

"Alice," Edward called from the kitchen, "I need to talk to you for a moment." Alice left and went into the kitchen. She jumped onto one of the barstools at the kitchen counter. "Alice, the wedding is a month away. Bella's getting really stressed out over all this planning, so go a little easier on her alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't have to cram everything in one day. Please, just listen to Bella and don't try to push her into doing too much."

"Did Bella tell you to say all this?"

"She was upset yesterday, and I told her I would talk to you."

"Alright. There's not that much more to do anyway. Are those pancakes?"

"Yeah."

"Those aren't fast." He set the plate down in front of her.

"They're fast enough." Bella sat down next to Alice. Edward gave her a plate. "You look beautiful, sweetheart."

"Thanks." She began shoveling pancakes into her mouth. Alice frowned at her.

"Those aren't the clothes I picked out for you."

"These are my favorite clothes." Alice tilted her head.

"Those are Edward's clothes."

"Just his shirt."

"Bella, you can't wear that." Bella jumped up.

"No time to change now. We have a lot to get done." She kissed Edward. "Thank you for breakfast. I love you."

"I love you too, have fun. Alice, remember what we talked about." Alice got up.

"Okay." As they were heading for the door the phone rang. Bella picked it up and looked at the caller ID.

"Dammit. It's Jess."

"You can do it," Edward encouraged. Bella picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bella. Sorry about yesterday. I had low blood sugar. So, what are we doing today?"

"Um, Alice and I were going to go look at cakes."

"Okay, where should I meet you and does Alice really have to come?" Bella sat down on the couch.

"See Jess, um, Alice and I were just going to go alone." She sighed. "I'm making some cutbacks on my wedding. My budget is running tight-"

Alice looked at Edward. "She has a budget?" He put his finger to his lips and shook his head. Alice let out a relieved sigh.

"And I really just want this wedding to be a small thing so, I only have room and money for three bridesmaids," Bella finished.

"Are you kicking Alice out cause I would totally back you."

"No."

"Rosalie?"

"Jess, I'm sorry. I'm going to have to let you go."

"What?!"

"I'm sorry, I have to go now. I have a lot to do. You're still invited." Jessica was still screaming when Bella put down the phone. "That sucked."

"You were wonderful." Edward wrapped his arms around her.

"She's going to kill me in my sleep."

"I won't let her. So, um, how scary is my credit card bill going to be?" Bella bit her lip.

"I'll stop her before we max it out."

"Get whatever you want. Have fun."

She looked longingly back to Edward as Alice dragged her out for yet another day of wedding shopping.

A/N: Chapter 2! Reviews and critiques welcome. Enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3: Tension

Disc: I don't own Twilight. I just love it.

A/N: Thank you all for faving and reviewing.

Eternal

Chapter 3: Tension

It had been a week since Bella had declared no sex until after the wedding and kicked Jessica out of the wedding and she was starting to feel it. For a bit Alice had listened to Edward's request and stopped hyper planning, but with the wedding fast approaching she had picked back up. She kept thinking of people to invite and she had dragged Bella to several places looking for the perfect place to have the wedding. Jessica was a different matter. Bella knew that she would be upset, but she was hoping that she would go back to Forks and forget about it. She had done the opposite. It seemed like she was even more in the way. Bella's head was about to explode and just fantasizing about Edward didn't seem to be helping any more. She had all kinds of tension built up and no good way to release it. Today didn't seem to be improving things at all. Bella sat down on a bench outside of the photographer's office while Alice hashed out details. She rubbed her temples. She was ready for the day to be over, but next was the caterer then off to see a billion more places. She felt a migraine coming on. Alice stepped out of the photographer's studio. "It's all done."

"So, home?" Bella asked hopefully. Alice shook her head and laughed.

"I have to go pick up more invitations." She started to walk off. Bella jumped up.

"What do you need invitations for?"

"Um, Bella, I know that we talked about not inviting anyone else, but I thought of a few more people that we forgot to invite." Bella threw up her hands.

"Alice! Who could we have possibly forgotten to invite?! You invited all of Forks and most of Seattle! Did you miss inviting half of Port Angeles?" Bella felt angry tears spring to her eyes. She took a deep breath. Alice held up her hands.

"Alright, we won't invite anyone else. Sheesh." Alice started walking again. "Bella do me a favor. When you go home tonight, have sex. You need some other outlet than yelling at me."

"Alice I'm sorry, I'm just tired. Where are we going?"

"The caterer." Bella looked down. "Or would you rather go look at venues?"

"I would really like to look at venues. Alice I really am sorry."

"No problem. Weddings are stressful. Remember how I was close to my wedding." Bella shuddered. "And I wasn't denying myself Jasper." They got to Alice's car and got in. "I have the perfect place to show you. I saw it in a brochure." Despite her frazzled nerves Bella found herself getting excited. Alice drove for about half an hour before pulling up in front on an old Victorian mansion. Bella stepped out of the car. "Wow, Alice it's beautiful."

"There's even a grand ballroom."

"Great so I can watch everyone else dance." Alice laughed.

"Would you like to see the inside?"

"Yes please." They went inside. The woman at the desk smiled at them.

"Can I help you?" she asked, pleasantly.

"We're thinking about booking this place for a wedding, but we need to look around first."

"Feel free to look around all you want. I'll be here if you have any questions." Bella nodded at her. They moved on around the house. Bella loved the feel and the look of the old house. She could see the wedding taking shape. She knew exactly where the guests should be seated, she could see where the arch should be.

"Alice I love it." Alice smiled and stopped in front of a set of large French doors.

"You'll love this." She pushed the doors open into the grand ballroom. Bella gasped. It would be perfect for the reception.

"We should get this place." Alice's smile broadened.

"Let's go talk to the woman at the front desk." They went back out there and stopped short when they saw Jessica standing at the front desk signing something. She turned and smiled at them.

"Isn't this place great? It's the perfect place for my party."

"What party?"

"I'm having a party in a couple of weeks; I've been looking for a place to have it." Bella shrugged and approached the desk.

"We need to reserve the house for my wedding." The woman pulled out another paper.

"What date do you need the house?"

"July 26th." The woman seemed to cringe.

"I'm afraid that date is unavailable."

"Oh, um…" Bella blinked back tears. Jessica gasped.

"That's your wedding date? That's the same day as my party. Isn't that funny?"

Bella was shaking. "Hilarious. You knew that was my wedding date." She started towards Jessica.

"Did I? I guess I might have heard something like that. Oh well, guess you'll have to find another place. You have to jump on places like this. You never know when someone might snap them up." Jessica shrugged innocently. Bella kept advancing on her, backing her towards the ballroom. Suddenly Alice grabbed Bella's arm.

"Bella, it's not worth it. Do you really want to get arrested for assaulting her?" Bella shook her head. Jessica smiled smugly and with a flip of her hair started past them to the door.

"Surely you can find somewhere to have your stupid little wedding." Casually Alice stuck out her foot and sent Jessica sprawling.

"Come on Bella." She grabbed Bella's arm. They stepped over Jessica and walked out. On the car ride back, Bella was quiet. In her mind she was panicking a little. What else would go wrong? "Bella, don't worry. We'll find a new place."

"We've looked at so many." They pulled up in front of Bella's apartment. Bella got out of the car and went inside. Alice followed her. Edward came out of the bedroom.

"Hey, how did it go?" As soon as she saw him, Bella crumbled. She began sobbing. She pushed past Edward and went into their bedroom.

"Alice, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. It just hasn't been the best day."

"I'll talk to her."

"I'll see you later." Bella heard the front door shut. She heard Edward approaching and buried her face in her arms. Soon she felt Edward's hand stroking her hair. She moved so that her head was laying in his lap.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"Edward, it's almost like the universe is conspiring against us. I found the perfect place and then I found out that Jessica rented it out for a party. Alice keeps trying to invite new people. She's not that big of a problem…stuff just keeps going wrong."

"Bella…" He kissed her hair. "It'll be alright. So Jessica rented your place. We'll find a different place. Mom had an idea. I wasn't sure if I should bring it up or not because I was sure that you and Alice would find another place. Mom was saying that we could have the wedding at their house. It's big enough. We could have the reception in the yard. Alice could decorate it and it would be perfect." Bella looked up at Edward. "It doesn't matter where we get married, Bella. I just want to spend the rest of my life with you. These can't be bad omens because I know this is right." He pulled her up into his lap and kissed her.

"There's another problem."

"What's that," he asked, wrapping his arms around her.

"I don't think I can wait until our wedding night." Edward chuckled.

"It's just a little bit longer. We can make it." He kissed her neck. "I'm sorry you had such a bad day. Is there anything I can do to make it better?" She laid down and pulled him down next to her. She buried her face against his chest.

"I feel better already." She kissed his chest. "Can we talk to your parents tomorrow? I would love to have the wedding there if it's okay. I don't know why I didn't think about it before."

"Sure I'll call them in the morning." Bella looked at the clock. It was 6:00. "Do you want something to eat?" She shook her head.

"I'm kind of tired." He pulled her close to him and hummed softly. It wasn't long before Bella fell asleep.

Bella woke up to soft sunlight filtering through the window. Smiling she stretched and rolled over to wrap her arms around Edward. She woke up all the way and frowned when her hands only found sheets. "Edward?" She could hear him moving around in the kitchen. She brushed her teeth and made her way to the kitchen. Edward was standing in front of the stove making breakfast. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. "I thought I'd lost you." She laid her head on his shoulder and kissed him. He smiled.

"You were asleep for a long time. Do you feel better today?"

"Yes." Someone cleared their throat behind them. Bella spun around. "Mom!" She ran up and threw her arms around Rene. "When did you get here?"

"About an hour ago. I came to see if I could help."

"I think Alice pretty much has everything wrapped up."

"Well, can I see it?"

"What?"

"The dress!"

"Oh, Alice kept it. She didn't want Edward trying to look at it." Edward laughed.

"Cause I'm a sneak like that. Breakfast is ready." He set two plates down on the table. Bella kissed him before she sat down.

"This looks great." Rene agreed as she sat down in front of her own plate. Bella looked at the two plates.

"Are you eating?" He shook his head.

"Not right now. I need to go take a shower and prepare myself mentally for the bachelor party Emmett is making me have."

"Bachelor party? Is he taking you to a strip club?"

"Not if he knows what's good for him. I promise, no strippers. Enjoy your breakfast." He went off to get in the shower. Bella tried very hard not to think of him in the shower.

"Edward's nice." Her mom's voice pulled her out of her fantasies.

"He is, I love him so much." Her mother was looking at her with a concerned look in her eyes. "What?"

"Bella are you sure you want to get married? I mean, you're so young. I wasn't sure about you moving in with him, but marriage is a big step Bella."

"I know, mom. I love Edward, I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I know that you and dad were young when you got married, but it's different with Edward."

"As long as you're sure sweetheart. He's a good cook."

"Very good. He practically does all the cooking."

"How much do you have left to do on the wedding?"

"Hopefully not a lot. It's so stressful."

"I remember that. If I can help at all…"

"I'll let you know, but it's mostly in Alice's hands now."

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Edward stood in the shower letting the water rush over him. Last night had been rough. Ever since Bella had cut them off it had been hard laying next to her and keeping his hands off of her. When she was upset, as she had been last night it was twice as hard. He had never really thought of himself as that kind of guy but Bella did things to him. He sighed. He only had to wait another week and a half. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Before he could reign it back in his mind began to go wild with thoughts of Bella. The soft curves of her body, the way her eyes sparked when she looked at him. He leaned against the wall. He knew exactly how it would feel if she pressed her soft body against him, the sounds she would make as he gathered her up in his arms and pressed his body back against hers. His pulse began to race and his breath hitched. "Edward?" Bella called through the shower door. He took several deep breaths before he answered.

"Yes?"

"Alice called. Mom and I are going to go finish some shopping with her."

"Alright." He looked up and was startled to find that she was right there.

"Can I have a kiss?" She slowly pulled the door open and took in his naked body for a moment before pulling him into a kiss. "I love you." She turned and headed for the door.

"I love you too."

"Call me if we're not back before you have to leave for your bachelor party."

"Okay." He realized he was shaking as she closed the bathroom door. Suddenly a week and a half seemed like a very long time.

As he was getting out the phone rang. Edward picked it up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Hey bro. You ready to go yet? We still have to get some stuff done before the bachelor party."

"Hey Emmett. I'm almost ready. Are you on your way?"

"Yep." He heard a muffled sound. "Give me a half hour." His voice sounded shaky. He heard Rosalie's voice taunting Emmett suggestively.

"I'll see you in a little bit." He hung up and glared at the phone. Bastard. With a sigh, he began cleaning up the kitchen waiting for Rosalie to get done with Emmett.

A/N: So much tension. Here is chapter 3. I hope you all enjoy. It's kind of slow-going right now, but I'm building up to the wedding.


	4. Chapter 4: I Now Pronounce You

Disc: I don't own Twilight

Eternal

Chapter 4: I Now Pronounce You…

Edward opened the front door quietly and came inside. The apartment was completely dark. A glance at the clock told him that it was 12:30 am. He hoped Bella wasn't mad at him. He had tried several times to tell Emmett that it was time to go, to no avail. He had finally managed to sneak away when Emmett was too drunk to know the difference between him and a bar stool. He hoped Jasper got him home alright. He would have to call him later. He found a note on the counter.

_I hope that you had a good time tonight. I love you, sweetheart._

He laid the note back on the counter and made his way to the bedroom. Silently he pushed the door open and smiled as he took in the sight of his sleeping angel. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed carefully into bed. He slid his arms around her and she stirred. She opened her eyes and smiled sleepily at him. "Hey."

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm late. I had a hard time getting away." She snuggled against him.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yeah. We didn't do a whole lot. We had beer and talked."

"Some party."

"I beat Emmett at pool." She kissed him. "He wanted strippers, but I put my foot down."

"Thank you."

"Mmm…Did you have fun?"

"I did. It was nice to have my mom here. And we got everything done!" He chuckled and kissed her neck. She shuddered. "Almost. I still have one more fitting for my dress." She rolled over so that she was straddling him. "I missed you so much." She leaned down and kissed him deeply. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her against him. She ran her hands over his chest and down his sides.

"Bella, we have to stop." Reluctantly she pulled away. "Soon Bella." She rolled back to her place and he stroked her hair. "I called my parents. They would be happy to have the wedding at the house."

"Mmm…" She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled against him, burying her face against his chest.

"Bella?" When he got no answer he pulled back carefully to look at her. She had fallen asleep again. He kissed her softly. "I love you," he whispered.

Bella woke up the next morning still wrapped around Edward. She smiled softly and carefully pulled herself out of his arms. He always made her breakfast, it was her turn to pay him back. She got up and headed into the kitchen. She was in the middle of making egg sandwiches when she felt his arms wrap around her. "You were supposed to stay in bed until I could bring breakfast to you." He kissed her softly.

"I couldn't wait." He sat down and she brought him a cup of coffee. "Thank you."

"So, we can have the wedding at your parents'?"

"Oh you heard that? I thought you had fallen asleep." She sat in his lap. "Yes, mom said that she would be thrilled to have the wedding at the house."

"I supposed this means that Alice will want to drive down there and decorate."

"Probably. I doubt that she'd involve you in it though." Bella frowned. "She would want it to be a surprise." Bella got up and finished breakfast. She brought it to him and set the plate in front of him. "This looks good." She sat across from him and stared at him. "Yes?"

"You're so hot. I can't believe I get to marry you." He smiled.

"I can't believe you are marrying me."

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As soon as Bella had called Alice about the wedding, Alice had flown into action. Bella had barely seen her in the last week. Her place had been taken up by Rosalie who had helped Bella and her mom finish up last minute wedding things. It seemed like the week and a half before her wedding had flown by at an alarming speed. Bella was sitting at the table in a daze. She had just come back from a day of last minute checking and re-checking. Her mom had already left for Forks. Though Bella could think of a billion reasons why she shouldn't, Renee had accepted Charlie's offer to stay with him. Alice and Rosalie would be picking her up tomorrow morning so that they could head down there…so she thought. There was a loud knock on the door pulling Bella out of her daze.

She crossed the room and pulled the door open. Alice was standing there smiling broadly. "Are you so excited?!" Bella could help but laugh.

"I'm working my way to excited. Right now I'm exhausted."

"Are you ready?"

"The wedding isn't for several more hours. Like, twelve."

"I mean for tonight. Are you ready to go?"

"Go?"

"Bella, you're not staying here tonight. Edward can't see you before the wedding."

"That's the day of the wedding."

"And at 12:00 am, it will be the day of the wedding. Get your stuff." Bella groaned. She loved Alice, but she hadn't slept without Edward since before they had started living together. As stupid as it was, she would miss him. As if she read her mind, Alice crossed her arms and said, "Geez Bella, you'll see him tomorrow. Then you get to marry him and you can live with him forever." Pouting, Bella went into her room where Edward was laying on the bed writing.

"What are you writing?" She tried to peek at it, but he pulled it away.

"Secrect." She leaned down and kissed him. "What's up?"

"Alice is stealing me." He looked up at her sadly. She sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry. I'm not happy about it either, but she insists."

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too. The next time I'll see you, I'll be Mrs. Cullen." He smiled broadly.

"That sounds so good."

"Bella!" Alice called from the living room.

"I better go." She grabbed her toiletries and her sweats and kissed Edward goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and walked out. "Alright Alice. Let's go." They left the apartment and went down to Alice's waiting car. Rosalie was waiting in the front seat. "Oh, is this like a sleepover?"

"Sort of. We mostly needed the muscle in case you decided to run and go back to Edward." Bella laughed nervously.

"Why would I do something like that?" Alice glared back at her through the rear view mirror.

"I'm watching you."

They got back to Alice's house. As they walked in Bella's eyes widened. Covering almost every kitchen surface was some kind of snack food. Alice shrugged. "I wasn't sure what you'd like so I got a little bit of everything. Go put on your pajamas and we'll girl-talk." Bella went off to the bathroom and put her sweats on. She hoped Edward wouldn't mind. She had grabbed his college sweatshirt. She inhaled the scent of it deeply. No matter how many times she washed it, it always smelled like him. She missed him already. She took a deep breath. This was her bachelorette party, she guessed, and she wasn't about to ruin it by being a downer. Putting a smile on she went back out into the living room. "Sorry, Bella, the stripper cop couldn't make it."

"Darn." Bella said rolling her eyes. The door opened and Jasper came in. Alice crossed her arms.

"You're supposed to be playing Rock Band with Emmett."

"I know, I'm going I just forgot something." He kissed Alice's cheek

"You didn't forget that."

"I forgot my wallet." Rosalie scowled.

"Rock Band is free. What do you need a wallet for? You guys can't go out. Rebecca is asleep at home. He needs to stay and watch her."

"We're not going out. I'm picking up snacks, and drinks." He kissed Alice again. "I should get going."

"Okay, you might call Edward and see if he wants to hang out. He's all alone." Jasper said his goodbyes and exchanged one more longing look with Alice before leaving. The girls all sat down in the living room. "What should we do?"

Bella shrugged. "Talk?"

"How is your mom liking Washington?"

"Well mom never really likes Washington, but," Bella shifted, "I think that she's enjoying being here with me and…dad."

"She's married right?" Rosalie asked as she filed her nails.

"Yeah, but I don't think that they're doing well. Phil travels a lot and it's kind of hard on mom."

"Wow. Where is Phil? Is he coming to the wedding?" Alice opened a bag of cheese curls.

"I don't think so. I think he had a game. Mom and him argued about it. I was a little bit nervous about her spending the night at my dad's house. Not that I really think anything would happen, but I know that he's still crazy about her and she may still have feelings for him. It's stuff like this that makes me unsure about getting married."

"Bella, that is not appropriate talk for the night before your wedding."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I'm just getting nervous." Alice grabbed her hand and went after it with a nail file and polish.

"This will take your mind off of it."

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Renee crept down the stairs and heard that the T.V. was still on. She peeked around the corner and saw Charlie sitting on the couch only half paying attention to a game. His head snapped up when the floor creaked under her feet. "Hey." He looked down quickly. She came the rest of the way into the room and sat down next to him on the couch.

"Hey," she answered. "Are you doing okay?" He shrugged.

"I'm worried about Bella really." He shifted uncomfortably. Renee nodded.

"Edward's a good boy, but they're awfully young. I don't want to see her get hurt." Charlie rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, maybe they'll be okay. Maybe they'll make it." They were silent for a moment. Charlie finally turned to face her. "How have you been?" Renee's eyes filled with tears and she blinked them away quickly.

"I've been okay. Phil's been traveling a lot, but it's for his career, it makes him happy." It came out sounding uncertain, almost bitter. She leaned back against Charlie, who cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. Renee sighed. "I hope our daughter has better luck in her marriage than we've had in ours."

"I think she'll be okay." Charlie looked down at Renee. It was stupid how much he still loved her. When he heard that she was coming to Forks early he had been much too eager to invite her to stay with him. He looked away. He had to stop thinking about her like this. She was married. Happily married, as far as he knew. But the way he had been talking about Phil… He kicked himself mentally and looked back down at her. She was falling asleep. Reluctantly, he nudged her awake. "You should get to bed. We have a big day tomorrow." She sat up and stretched.

"Yeah. We have to give our daughter to some boy who's nowhere near good enough for her." She laughed as she stood up. "Thanks again, Charlie, for letting me stay here."

He nodded and looked down at his hands. "No problem. Sleep well." She patted his shoulder.

"You too." He watched her as she made her way back up to her room.

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"Bella! Mrs. Cullen, wake up!" Bella's eyes flew open. She groaned. She had been having the most wonderful dream about Edward. "Bella, you're getting married!" Her eyes focused on Alice, who was standing over her. What could she want this early? Gasping Bella sat up.

"My wedding!" Bella's stomach started doing flips. Alice pulled Bella out of bed.

"We have to get going if we're going to get to Forks in time," Rosalie stepped into the room and handed Bella a cup of coffee. Alice ran in and out carrying stuff to the car. After several trips she finally emerged with the dress and announced that it was time to go.

The car ride to Forks was quiet. Bella was too on edge to talk. She was fighting down nausea. Finally they pulled up in front of the Cullen's house. Bella tried, but she couldn't see any decorations. "They're in the back and you can see them at the wedding." Alice bolted out of the car.

"We only have a couple of hours to get you ready!" Alice pulled Bella into the living room where a small salon was set up. "I'll be doing your make-up and Rosalie will be doing your hair." She pushed Bella down into the chair that had been set in the middle of the room.

Rosalie moved to stand behind her. Soon she felt Rosalie's skilled hands brushing and twisting her hair. She watched as Alice rolled out her make-up and took a seat in front of her.

"Are you excited yet?" Bella nodded and swallowed. Rosalie pulled her hair up into a dramatic updo, letting a few strands flow loose around her face. She braided small white flowers into her hair. After what seemed like forever, she stepped back.

"Perfect."

"Can I see it?"

"When Alice is done with your make-up." Alice didn't miss a beat as she began to apply Bella's make-up. Her hands were a blur. Soon she smiled and sat back. Bella took the mirror that she offered.

"Wow, is that me?" Bella had never seen herself looking so radiant. She hadn't thought it was even possible. Before she could focus too long, Alice was pulling her to her feet. Rosalie had her wedding dress out and her and Alice struggled Bella into it.

"You look like you're ready to get married." A car pulled up into the driveway. Jasper came in.

"We're going to come through here if you want to hide Bella. And Bella, your parents are here." He stopped and stared at Bella. "Wow, you look amazing. Edward's gonna' die."

"I hope not before we have a chance to get married. Will you tell my parents that I'm up in Alice's room?" He nodded and headed back outside. Bella followed Alice upstairs. "I can't wait to see Edward."

"You can wait ten more minutes."

"Ten?" Bella felt her face flush. It seemed like time was always creeping up on her. There was a knock on the door. Alice opened it. Charlie stepped in followed closely by Renee. Renee gasped.

"Bella, you look wonderful, sweetie." She hugged Bella and kissed her cheek. Charlie stepped up and took Bella's hand.

"Wow," was all he could say. Bella blushed. Rosalie came into the room.

"It's time to get lined up." Renee kissed Bella's cheek one more time.

"I'll see you down there sweetie." She left the room. Charlie leaned in close.

"Are you ready?" he whispered.

"Are you?" He shook his head and blinked away tears. He took her arm and they followed Alice down the stairs and to the back door. Bella took a deep breath as they waited by the door. "I'll miss you Bella."

"Dad, I'm not going anywhere."

"I know." Bella looked back towards the door in time to see Rosalie start down the aisle. Her heart began to pound and it felt like her stomach was going to fly away. An instant later Alice made her way to the alter. Bella and her father stood and waited anxiously for their turn. Bella drifted off into her thoughts trying to calm her nerves.

"Bella." Her father tugged on her arm and she heard it. The wedding march. Slowly she started down the aisle. The first things she noticed were the decorations. There were white paper lanterns lining the walkway on either side. At the end was a beautiful arch which had been covered with roses and small lights for later when it got dark. Her eyes drifted to either side of her where everyone was staring at her. She forced her eyes forward and found Edward. He was smiling at her.

"Wow," he mouthed. She smiled back as she took him in. He looked amazing. His normally disheveled hair was combed back. His black tuxedo fit every part of his body perfectly. Bella couldn't wait to get it off of him. She shook her head and tried to rid herself of those kinds of thoughts. After an eternity she reached Edward. She barely heard as her father gave her away. He went to take his place beside Renee and Bella took Edward's hand. Suddenly the rest of the crowd melted away as she looked into Edward's eyes. Tears streamed down her face as he read the beautiful vows he had written for her. She fumbled through her vows. They were pronounced husband and wife and Edward pulled her into a soft kiss. She melted in his arms. They finally pulled away from each other and turned to face the crowd. They made their way back down the aisle.

"Bella you look amazing."

"You too. I can't believe we're married!"

"Me either. Do you think they would miss us if we didn't go to the reception?"

"Probably. We'll just have to do our best to get through the reception without ripping each other's clothes off."

He blushed slightly. "I'm up to it if you are, Mrs. Cullen." He looked her over. He hoped his control held out that long.

A/N: Married! Next chapter has a lemon in it. I hope that you enjoy this one. Thank you for all the reviews.


	5. Chapter 5: Release

Eternal

Chapter 5: Release

Bella drummed her fingers impatiently on the table. She looked over and caught Edward's eyes. He smiled at her. "Soon," he whispered. He took her hand. "Uh, oh."

"What?" She looked in the direction he nodded and saw Alice climbing up on the stage and grabbing the microphone. "Uh, oh." Alice cleared her throat.

"Can I have everyone's attention please? First of all I would like to congratulate Bella and Edward. From the moment they met, the two were destined to come to this day. I would like you all to welcome them as they share their first dance." Edward stood and took Bella's hand. She shook her head.

"I'm not going to let you fall," he whispered in her ear. She sighed and got to her feet. He led her out on to the dance floor and pulled her close. "You look so beautiful, Bella."

She laid her head on his shoulder. "You too." He chuckled. "I mean handsome." As they swayed back and forth Bella was just barely aware that the dance floor was filling up with people. When the song was over Edward reluctantly handed Bella over to her father before going to dance with his mother. Bella and her father danced very carefully.

"Bella, I'm really happy for you. Edward's a good kid."

"Thanks, dad." Renee came over and Bella stepped out of the way to let her dance with Charlie. She went to sit back down at their table. A few moments later Edward joined her.

"Alice said it's time to cut the cake."

"Then we can leave?"

"I think that we have to at least eat some of it first." Bella got up and they made their way over to the cake. It was a beautiful cake; a bit excessive with its five tiers, but beautiful all the same. It was white with cherry blossoms winding around it. It was a shame to cut into it. It had to be done.

"Shove it in her face!" Emmett called. Bella gave Edward a look that plainly said he would be sorry if he did. He smiled. He placed the cake gently into her mouth. She laughed when she heard Emmett groan. She put the cake in his mouth then kissed him softly.

"I love you, so much," he said, softly.

"I love you too."

"Alright, get out of the way." Alice pushed them aside so that she could start plating the cake. Bella and Edward each took a piece and went back to their table.

"So, do I get to know where you're taking me?" Bella looked over at Edward, hopefully.

"Not until we get there."

Slowly the party began to wind down. People began to filter out. Renee and Charlie stopped by their table. Bella got up and wrapped her arms around her mom. "Are you leaving town?" Renee shook her head.

"I'm going to stay here with Charlie for a few more days."

"Mom, are you and Phil okay?" Tears filled Renee's eyes.

"I think we'll be okay. Sweetie don't worry about it. This is your wedding day. Enjoy it. You've got a really great guy here." Bella nodded. Renee turned her attention to Edward. "You take care of my daughter."

"I will." She pulled Edward into a hug. Charlie shook Edward's hand and hugged Bella. The two of them left.

"I hope Renee will be alright. I know she really loves Phil, but I've never really seen how that could work."

"Bella," Edward kissed her softly. "Let's get out of here. We have a plane to catch."

"A plane?"

"Go change." Bella went back into the house. Alice followed to help her.

"Do you know where he's taking me?"

"Yes." There was silence.

"Will you tell me?" Alice shook her head. Bella pouted. Soon she was out of her dress and into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Alice slipped something into her suitcase. She helped Bella haul her stuff down to the waiting limousine. Her and Edward hugged everyone then got in the car and headed for the airport. "Are we going to get there tonight or will we get there tomorrow."

"We should get there tonight."

"Hmm…" He pulled her against him.

"You're not going to stop trying to guess are you?" She shook her head.

"Will you tell me if I get it?"

"Absolutely not." He kissed the top of her head. She wrapped her arms around him. They spent the hour to Seattle in silence. He held her close and marveled at the fact that he got to be married to her. He never thought that he would reach this day. He always figured that he would date a long string on Tanyas before he just gave up. Meeting Bella had been like a breath of fresh air. Actually convincing her to marry him had been a miracle. They arrived at the airport and he carried their bags in to check. Once they were through security they didn't have to wait long before they were being escorted onto a private plane.

"Don't tell me this is your plane." Edward laughed.

"No, I'm borrowing it. It was the only way to get a direct flight." They sat down and, after take-off, were offered a variety of food and drinks.

Bella snuggled against Edward. "I'm already having fun." He smiled suggestively.

"Wait until we get there." She shivered slightly. She tried to watch out the window for a while, but soon her eyelids grew heavy. She wrapped her arms around Edward and drifted off.

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Jessica looked around the large, empty hall and sighed. Lauren looked back at her. "Stupid Bella with her stupid wedding." Her head snapped in Mike's direction when he coughed to cover a chuckle. "Yes?"

"Nothing…I didn't say anything…" He looked down at his hands. "Sorry." He sighed. He wished he had gone to Bella's wedding. At times like these it sucked to have to be Jessica's boyfriend.

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"Bella." Edward was shaking her. "Sweetheart, wake up. We're here." He kissed her softly. Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked around, momentarily disoriented. The plane was coming to a stop on the runway and Edward was up getting their carry-on bags. Bella looked out the window and was shocked to see palm trees. The sun was setting, throwing pinks and oranges across the sky.

"Where are we?" she breathed. Edward smiled.

"Do you like it?" She nodded. "We're in Sandals, Jamaica." She hugged him.

"I've always wanted to go to Jamaica." They made their way off the plane and grabbed their bags. Edward stopped at the desk and picked up a set of car keys then they headed out into the parking lot where there was a white convertible waiting for them. "Wow." After getting her and the bags into the car, Edward slid into the driver's seat. He drove quickly to their hotel. Inside, they checked in and were directed to a large honeymoon suite. Bella went to the balcony and looked out. From here she could see the bright white beach. She thought that if she could get a good running start she might be able to jump from the balcony into the aqua water below. Edward wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you having fun, darling?" He kissed her neck.

"I am having fun." She turned in his arms and kissed him deeply. "You're such a wonderful husband." She ran her hands down his body then slid them back up under his t-shirt. He shuddered.

"Do you want dinner?"

"I want you." In a swift movement, she grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. He took her hand and pulled her over to the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and laid her down. She wrapped her arms around him to pull him closer.

"Bella," he breathed. He slid his hand under her shirt and ran them over her breasts. With shaking hands, he removed her shirt then fumbled with the clasps on her bra. She made an impatient noise and helped him get it off. He dropped both of the articles to the floor then brought his hands back up to caress her. A small moan escaped Bella's lips as he brushed his fingers over her nipples. She reached down to unbutton his pants and, with his assistance, slid them off and dropped them in a pile with the rest of their clothing. He moaned. "I've missed this so much." She laughed softly. In the back of her mind, Bella felt bad that she hadn't put on the slinky nighty that Alice had picked out for her, but she knew it wouldn't have mattered. She and Edward had so much built up tension that he probably wouldn't have had time to appreciate it now. She would show him tomorrow night. She felt him tugging at her underwear. She panted and moaned as he feathered kisses down her body.

"Edward." He looked up at her and smiled wickedly as he took the top of her underwear in his teeth and pulled them down. With all of their clothes removed, he sat back to take in her body.

"You're so beautiful." He laid back down and kissed her passionately. His hand brushed down her body until he found her center. She shuddered and cried out softly as he stroked her.

"Edward, please," she moaned. He wrapped his arms around her and positioned himself. Slowly, he slid into her. She felt all of the tension that had built up over the last few weeks begin to release as moved inside her. She ran her hands down his body and pulled him closer to her. "Edward." She moved with him. When she felt she couldn't take anymore he pushed her over the edge. She cried his name as she reached climax. He quickly followed her. He struggled to get his breath under control. She held him close. "Edward, that was amazing." He buried his face against her chest.

"I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her then moved to lay next to her.

"Are you hungry?"

"A little bit. We can call room service in a bit, but right now I just want to hold you."

"Sounds good to me." He feathered soft kisses along her jaw and down her neck. She shuddered and moaned slightly.

"Aren't you glad we waited?" He smiled.

"Yes, but the problem we have now is that I don't know if I can stop." She tangled her fingers in his hair.

"That's okay with me." Bella knew that she would be contented to spend the whole honeymoon in bed with him. All of her anxieties about marriage began to melt as she held Edward close. Her parent's marriage may not have worked and she was pretty sure her mother's marriage to Phil was slipping, but she knew that this was right.

"Are you tired?" Edward looked up into her eyes hopefully.

"No, you?" He shook his head and brought his lips back down to her neck. No, she wouldn't mind spending her honeymoon in bed with him at all.


	6. Chapter 6

Eternal

Chapter 6:

Bella's stomach rumbled. Edward chuckled as he untangled himself. "We should probably get something to eat now."

"No, I'm fine." She held onto Edward.

"Come on Bella." He kissed her and stood. Bella laid there and stared at his naked body. She whimpered and held out her arms. He beckoned for her to come. She got up and it took all Edward had not to lay her back down and keep her there for several more hours. He turned around and grabbed jeans. She sighed and pulled on her clothes.

"Alright, I'm dressed." She pouted. He laughed and kissed her nose. She couldn't help but laugh with him. He took her hand and they went down to his car.

"What are you in the mood for?" She shrugged.

"You pick. I trust you." He drove for a while. Bella leaned against him and watched the tropical landscape fly by. At long last he pulled into a tropical looking restaurant.

"You'll like this place." He came around and took her hand to help her out of the car. He wrapped an arm around her waist and they went inside. After they were seated, he ordered them drinks.

"This has been such a crazy day. I'm glad that the hectic wedding part of it is over."

"I'm so lucky to have you as a wife, Bella. You're so amazing." He kissed her softly. She shook her head.

"I'm the one who's lucky." The waiter brought them their food and drinks. As she watched Edward eat she found she couldn't wait to get him back to the hotel and thank him for just how amazing he was.

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Renee came in and sat down in the chair across from Charlie. She sighed heavily. Charlie glanced away from the game and watched Renee. He quickly registered the hurt on her face. He wasn't very good at picking up on emotions most of the time, but right now her emotions were laid bare. "So," he started, "how did it go with the phone?" He was pretty sure he already knew the answer. She looked at him, searching his face for signs that he really did want to know.

"It didn't go well. Phil didn't really have time to talk. He was running out the door for who knows what. He said he was sorry he missed Bella's wedding. I told him he didn't have to miss it and he said that he couldn't miss his game. I love him, but …it's like baseball is more important to him than me sometimes. If he has a game he absolutely will not miss it for anything." Charlie cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry to have bothered you with this."

"Renee. I'm sorry. I am listening, I just…"

"I know Charlie. Thanks for pretending anyway."

"I am listening. I'm sorry that things aren't working out with the two of you. I really do want you to be happy." Renee eyed him skeptically. "I do. Maybe I didn't when you first mention Phil, but," he seemed to be struggling, "I love you, Renee and I only want what makes you happy. So, I'm sorry that Phil isn't making you happy." Renee stared at him open mouthed. Instantly he tensed back up and turned back to the game.

"Thank you, Charlie." She continued to stare at him. Sometimes she could still see the man she fell in love with. "Eventually I'll have to go home."

"Or you could stay here in Forks."

"Did you just meet me?"

"Yeah, I know. You hate Forks." Renee got up and went into the kitchen. She returned a few moments later with a bowl of popcorn and sat down next to Charlie on the couch.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm starting to dislike Florida just as much. I think I just need a reason to like Forks." Renee wondered if she could. Bella hated Forks, but for Edward Bella would live in the North Pole. Charlie looked over at her in mild disbelief. Was she really saying what he was hearing? He mentally kicked himself for thinking something like that. He grabbed a handful of popcorn.

"I don't know if there's a force big enough in this world to make you like Forks." Renee shrugged.

"Maybe not." She threw a handful of popcorn at him. "Certainly not with that attitude there's not."

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Bella was panicking. It hadn't hit her full on yet so it was just mild anxiety. She dug frantically through her bag for the fifth time. This time she had to admit to herself that her birth control pills were not in there. She thought back. In all the activity of getting the wedding together she had definitely forgotten to take a few doses. She hadn't even thought about it while she and Edward were practicing abstinence, but now it was an issue. She picked up the phone and called her apartment to leave a message for Alice who was collecting their mail. She was surprised when Alice picked up.

"Hello," Alice sang into the phone.

"Hey, Alice."

"Bella, how's your honeymoon going?"

"Um, it's fun. I need you to check something for me. In my room, on the dresser…is there a little blue pill case?" She heard Alice rummaging on her dresser.

"Here they are. Oh, Bella, shouldn't these be with you?"

"Yes," Bella groaned. "I forgot them. I've forgotten to take them the last couple of times I was supposed to." Bella was furious with herself. She usually wasn't this irresponsible. That was her mother. Lately she had been spacing a lot. She had been up early every morning with Alice planning the wedding and then had come home and fallen into bed every night. Her mind had been so filled with wedding stuff that there hadn't been a lot of room for anything else.

"I could try to overnight them to you."

"I don't know that it would matter at this point. Thanks Alice. I just need to talk to Edward."

"Okay, good luck. I'm glad that you're having a good time." Edward came in from his shopping trip.

"I have to go. I'll talk to you later. Love you."

"Love you too." She and Alice hung up and she turned to face Edward.

"Hey sweetheart." Edward came and sat down next to her. "What did you get?" A smile crept onto his face. He shrugged.

"Some stuff for tonight." He smiled seductively at her. Bella tried to return the smile but failed miserably. Edward picked up on that. He took her hand. "What's wrong?" Bella bit her lip. She suddenly didn't know what to say to him. He had said that he wasn't ready to be a father. This was such a stupid mistake. He was going to hate her for it. Maybe not hate her, she didn't really think that Edward could hate her, but it would certainly upset him.

"Edward, I um…" she looked down at their hands. "I forgot to take my birth control pills. I forgot to bring them with me." For a long time he didn't say anything. "Edward… I'm sorry. I was being so stupid. I know that you're not ready to have children and I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Bella, slow down. Are you saying that you're pregnant?" He was trying to keep his anxiety hidden, but Bella could see it in his eyes.

"I don't know. It's too soon to know that, but…it's a possibility." Tears began to roll down her cheeks. He pulled her into his arms.

"Okay, so we don't know anything yet. It could be okay. If you are, we'll deal with it, but we shouldn't get worked up over something that we don't even know right?" Bella loved him. He was trying so hard to comfort her even though his heart was pounding and there was a slight edge to his voice that said he was scared.

"You're not mad?"

"Of course not. Bella, both of us were involved in this. We'll just be more careful until we can figure out what's going on. We'll deal with whatever happens together." He kissed her softly.

"Edward, I love you so much."

"I love you too Bella." For a long time they held each other. Once Bella had calmed down she remembered that she was supposed to call her mother and let her know that they had gotten there alright.

"Do you think I should tell her?" Edward shook his head.

"Until we know something I don't think we should tell people. They'll jump to conclusions." Bella nodded and picked up the phone. She started to dial her mother's number, but hung up and dialed her father's number. Renee picked up.

"Bella, sweetie, how's your honeymoon."

"It's fun. Edward took me to Jamaica. It's so beautiful here."

"I've always wanted to go to Jamaica."

"I thought you might have gone home by now. Isn't Phil going to miss you?" Her mother was silent. "Mom?"

"I don't know if he's going to miss me or not Bella." She heard a catch in her mother's voice and suddenly wished she was there to give her a hug. Years of taking care of her mother had made her feel very protective of her.

"Mom, what happened?"

"I don't know. We just haven't really been in sync with each other for a while. I don't want to bring your honeymoon down with this. Your father needs me here anyway. Honestly Bella, I don't know how he's gotten along without you." Bella couldn't help but giggle a little. Her father was often more responsible than her scatter-brained mother, but he definitely did need taken care of sometimes.

"Mom, something will work out with Phil. You love each other right?"

"Yes. I love him at least. Bella, I'm so glad that you have Edward. I can tell that you two are perfect for each other."

"Edward's amazing. I love you mom. I'll try to bring something back for you. I just wanted to let you know that I'm alive and well."

"Thank so much for calling sweetheart. I hope you have a good time. I love you."

"I love you too. Is Dad there?"

"No, he went to work. He'll be back tonight."

"Okay, tell him I said hi."

"I will, honey. I'll talk to you soon." She hung up. Bella put the phone down and sat on the bed next to Edward.

"My mom and Phil are doing really awful. She's downplaying it, but I can tell. To be honest I didn't really see it working. Phil's a little too young for her. She's still at dad's house."

"Is she okay?"

"I think so. I mean, she's upset sure, but I think her and dad are good for each other right now. They've always gotten along." She hugged Edward tightly. "Have I said I'm lucky to have you?" He kissed the top of her head.

"I think you might have mentioned that."

"I wish this honeymoon could last a little bit longer. I don't know if I'm ready to deal with everything at home."

"We have a few more days. Then we'll deal with whatever happens at home. For now let's just relax and enjoy the time we have." Bella looked up into Edward's eyes. It was definitely easier to relax and forget about what was waiting for her when she was here with her perfect husband. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. There would be a lot to deal with when the honeymoon was over, but for now she was looking forward to making the most of the rest of their trip. She kissed Edward deeply and let the world melt around her.


	7. Chapter 7: Endings and Beginnings

Disc: I don't own Twilight.

Eternal

Chapter 7: Endings and Beginnings

Bella looked longingly back at the room. "Do we have to go?" Edward wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to go either." He kissed her neck. "I actually have to go into work on Monday."

"Oh right, you're working now." During the last semester of college Edward had started taking some classes to go towards a medical degree. He had already taken some of them and he had been able to test out of a lot of it. Lately he had been picking up shifts at the hospital helping Carlisle. "Soon you'll be doctor Cullen."

"Maybe doctor Edward. Doctor Cullen might get confusing. Come on. We'll miss our flight." He kissed her again then picked up their bags and headed out the door. Bella followed. The rest of their honeymoon had been amazing. Edward had taken her out every night to walk on the beach or through the town. One day he had rented a boat and had taken her out on the ocean. Each night he would bring her back to the hotel and they would make love until very early in the morning. They were being more careful now, but it was still amazing. Despite all of this, Bella still couldn't quite get rid of the anxiety that hung over her. She couldn't wait until she would be able to tell whether or not her mistake would make them parents. Edward kept telling her that it would be alright, that they would get through it together, but she knew that he was panicking too. "Bella." She snapped out of her thoughts and focused on Edward who was holding her car door open for her. She smiled sheepishly then got in. He closed the door then went around to his side and got in. He started it up and headed for the airport. "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm just…" she looked over at him. "I'm worried about being pregnant. Edward, we're not ready to have a baby." He looked straight ahead.

"We'll be okay. We don't even know if you are pregnant." He reached over and took her hand. "We'll get through this no matter what happens." He kissed her hand. She smiled over at him softly. He really was an amazing man. Before too long they reached the airport and found the plane waiting for them. As they boarded the plane Bella looked back and waved goodbye to beautiful Jamaica. She hoped that they would be able to make it out here again.

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Charlie parked the cruiser at the airport in Seattle and helped get Renee's bags out of the trunk. He helped her get inside and check her bags. She turned to face him. "Well, Charlie. Thank you for letting me stay, I hope I wasn't too much of a burden." She smiled.

"No, it was no problem. It was fun." After a slight awkward silence Renee hugged him tightly. She felt him shift uncomfortably, but he wrapped his arms around her. "It was really good to see you again, Renee."

"You too. Maybe I can come back and visit again sometime."

"You're welcome anytime." She let go of him and headed through security. He watched her until she disappeared. Sighing, he headed back out to his car. He was going to miss Renee. It had been nice to have her around again. Having her around had reminded him of how much he still loved her. He grumbled at himself as he got back into the car. That kind of thinking wasn't going to help anyone. She was married and as far as he knew there was nothing that would make her want to come back to Forks. He knew he certainly wasn't prepared to leave Forks. Even through all the protesting he couldn't make himself stop thinking about her. He had never stopped loving her. He slammed his door and started back towards Forks. He wondered how long it would be before he heard from her again.

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As soon as Edward and Bella got off the plane, Bella was tackled by Alice. "Tell me about everything!" Alice shouted at her. Bella laughed.

"I can't tell you about everything."

"I don't want to hear about those parts anyway." She helped them drag the stuff back to Edward's waiting Volvo as Bella told her about all of the fun stuff they had done. "That sounds so romantic. I wonder if Jazz would take me to Jamaica. How'd it work out with the not having your pills." She saw Edward tense in the driver's seat.

"I don't know yet. I probably won't be able to tell until the middle of next week at the earliest."

"Can I babysit?"

"Alice, we don't know anything yet." Bella tried desperately to get Alice to change the subject. Alice seemed to get it.

"When are you going back?" Bella shrugged.

"I don't know. Edward's going to be busy with medical school for a while."

"Didn't you test out of a lot of it?"

"I did test out of part of it, but not all of it. I still have to do an internship at the hospital too. Carlisle's letting me work with him."

"Doctor Edward. It sounds good." Bella smiled and took Edward's hand. They dropped Alice back off at her house and said hi to Jasper before going to their apartment. Once they were inside, Bella threw herself down on the sofa. "I liked Jamaica, but it's really good to be home." He put their bags down then came and joined her.

"I know what you mean." He kissed her softly. She reached up and tangled her fingers in his hair to pull him closer. He brushed his finger over her cheek, down her neck, and down her arm finally wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him. She pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"Nice comfy sofa." He chuckled. "I love you, Edward."

"I love you too."

"I need to go take a shower." He let her up.

"Do you need help?"

"Tempting." She kissed him. "I'll be right back. I'm a little hungry."

"Okay. I'll see if I can get something together." She headed into the bathroom. Edward got up and headed towards the kitchen. He hit the button on the answering machine as he passed.

"Hey Bella. It's mom. Give me a call when you get home so that I'll know you got there okay. I'm at home now so you can reach me there. I'll talk to you soon. You better call so I don't have to worry. Bye."

Edward got in the kitchen and began pulling things out of the cabinets and the refrigerator to figure out what he could make. In his mind he replayed the last week. He smiled. It was amazing, the whole entire week. He couldn't believe how lucky he had gotten. She had actually agreed to marry him. In thinking about the honeymoon his mind began dredging up things that he hadn't wanted to think about. Bella might be pregnant. They might be parents soon. A sudden new wave of panic washed over him and he gripped the counter tightly. He kept telling Bella that it would be alright, but he was scared. He wasn't ready to be a father. He didn't know the first thing about raising a baby. He and Bella were still kids themselves. He had taken care of Alice when she was a baby, but it was different. He took several deep breaths and forced the thoughts to the back of his mind. They didn't even know if they had anything to be worried about yet. He began putting dinner together. Soon he heard Bella coming out of the bathroom.

"That smells good." She was dressed in his sweats. They looked great on her.

"Thanks. Your mom called. She wants you to call her and let her know that I got you home alright. She went home so you can call her there." Bella went over to the phone and dialed her mother's number. Phil picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Phil."

"Bella, hi. I was wondering who this Edward Cullen was on my caller ID. How was the wedding?"

"It was really great. I had a lot of fun."

"Sorry I couldn't be there. I had a game."

"Oh, it's…okay."

"Are you calling for your mom?"

"Yes, is she there? She said she was going home."

"She did come home, but she left. I think she went to her friend's house."

"Is everything okay?" She heard Phil sigh.

"I don't know. Everything's fine. Listen, let me get you that number. It'll just take me a minute to find it." He put the phone down. She looked up at Edward. Soon Phil came back. He read her the number. "Bella, do you know if-? When she was staying with your father, did they-?" Bella understood what he was trying to ask her.

"I highly doubt that anything happened. I wasn't there, but I know my mom."

"Right, sorry. Anyway, you should be able to find her there. Have a good night." She said goodbye to Phil and hung up. Then she picked the phone back up and called the number Phil had given her. A woman picked up and Bella asked for her mother. After a moment Renee came to the phone.

"Hey sweetie. You got a hold of Phil I guess."

"Mom, what happened? Phil was asking me about you and dad."

"He was asking you about it too? I can't believe him. I told him to let it go." Bella was a bit startled by her mother's outburst. "I came home and Phil was there. Instead of being happy to see me he started in on the interrogations. He wanted to know why I stayed in Forks so long after the wedding. I told him I knew he would still be away and I didn't want to come home to an empty house. He told me I should have stayed in a hotel that it was weird that I spent so long with my ex-husband. He was implying that I was having an affair. I can't believe he doesn't trust me, Bella. I've never done anything that would give Phil cause not to trust me. I just don't understand why he's being like this." Renee's voice cracked. Bella let her head fall into her hands. She wished she could do something for her mom, but she was all the way across the country. Edward came and sat next to her. "Bella," her mom continued, "I don't think this is going to work. We keep fighting over stupid things and we can't seem to resolve things. He's too young. He doesn't know how to compromise. He's not good at talking things out."

"Mom, I'm sorry things aren't working out with you and Phil." She took Edward's hand.

"Bella, I'm sorry to rant at you. How was your honeymoon?"

"It was fun. Edward was amazing."

"Hold onto Edward, Bella. He's a really great guy."

"Is there anything that I can do mom?"

"Oh, I'll work it out sweetie. You worry too much about me. It was nice to talk to you about it though. I'll keep you updated. For now, you'll be able to reach me here."

"Okay, I love you mom."

"I love you too. You and Edward have fun." Bella and her mother hung up. She leaned against Edward. He didn't say anything. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. She really had gotten lucky. She couldn't imagine finding a better guy.

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"Alice what am I going to do?" Bella had to restrain herself to keep from hitting herself with the phone. It had been a week since she and Edward had returned from Jamaica and Bella knew she should have started her period 3 days ago.

"Bella," Alice said in a soothing voice, "it's only been 3 days. That's not really enough to decide that you're pregnant. We need to get a test and you need to stop freaking out until you take it."

"Are you going to come over and help me?"

"Of course. Is Edward there?"

"No, he went into the hospital today. There's a phone call I'm not looking forward too."

"That's it. I am going to go pick up a test and I'll be over. Stop freaking out for a little bit okay?"

"Okay, I'll try. I'll see you in a little bit." She hung up and curled up on the couch. It wasn't long before Alice was knocking on the door. Bella let her in and she steered Bella into the bathroom to take the test. "How long does it take?"

"The package said two minutes." They sat down on the edge of the tub and watched it.

"Has it been two minutes yet?"

"Not yet, Bella, calm down." Bella tapped her fingers. It was hard to wait for two minutes. Finally Alice's hand shot out and she picked the test up and stared at it. Bella couldn't look.

"What is it?" She peeked out from between her fingers and saw the plus sign. She groaned. "That means yes right?" Alice squealed and threw her arms around Bella.

"I'm going to be an aunt!!" Bella managed to smile weakly. "So can I babysit?"

"Of course." She got up.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go to the hospital to talk to Edward."

"I'll come with you." She smiled gratefully at Alice. Having Alice with her made it easier somehow. While Alice drove to the hospital Bella thought of several ways to tell Edward. By the time Alice parked she hadn't really managed to think of anything. They went inside and Alice steered her up to the front desk. "We need to see Edward Cullen." The woman behind the counter paged him and moments later he was walking towards them. The look of concern on his face was overwhelming. He reached them quickly.

"What's wrong?" Bella took his hand. "Bella, is everything okay?"

"Edward, I'm fine." She heard a relieved sigh escape his lips. "I'm pregnant."

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Renee stared through the rain at Charlie's house from the back of the cab. His cruiser was in the driveway so she knew he was home. She hadn't called so he wasn't expecting her. She just hoped that he wouldn't turn her away. Even though they had been divorced for a long time they were still friends and she hoped that friendship was enough for him to let her stay. "Miss, is this the place?" Renee turned towards the cab driver.

"This is. How much do I owe you?"

"20." She paid the man then got out of the cab, grabbed her bags and headed up to the door. She knocked softly and a surprised looking Charlie answered the door.

"Renee."

"Charlie, I'm sorry to just burst in on you like this, but is it okay if I stay for awhile?" He stepped out of the way so that she could come in.

"Is everything okay?" She turned towards him fully intending to say yes, but his kind eyes were so concerned that she couldn't hold back her emotions. She felt the tears well up and roll down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around him. She could tell that he was uncomfortable, but he didn't push her away. He just held her and let her cry on his shoulder.

A/N: Here's chapter 7. I hope that it's okay. Thank you all for your reviews, I really do appreciate them. There is sort of a side story running through it now. I really like Charlie in the books so I thought that he should get something too. Enjoy. I'll have chapter 8 up soon.


	8. Chapter 8: Dealing

Disc: I don't own Twilight

Eternal

Chapter 8: Dealing

Edward turned several shades whiter as the news sunk in. "Edward?" Bella's eyes were filled with concern. Edward swallowed. He staggered over to a chair in the waiting area and sank down into it. Bella stooped down next to him. "Edward, are you okay?" He turned his head to face her but his eyes stared past her not seeming to focus on anything. "Edward?"

"Are you sure?" Bella nodded.

"I took a test, it was positive." He rubbed his hands over his face. He nodded then stood and grabbed her hand. He started down the hall with her. "Where are we going?"

"To see Carlisle. I just want him to run a test. Those drug store tests can be unreliable." She looked back at Alice, who shrugged. "It'll be a really quick test."

"Edward wait. Is this really necessary?" He stopped and faced her.

"Bella I just want to be sure." He looked into her eyes pleadingly.

"Okay." They found Carlisle in emergency. He was kneeled down in front of a boy who had fallen out of a tree and broken his arm. She was sure she heard Edward groan. "What?"

"That could be our kid."

"It's not. If it was, it happens. I've been to the hospital a lot."

"That doesn't make me feel better. Do you know how crazy that would make me to have to take my kid to the hospital?"

"You could be forty and it would still make you crazy."

"At forty it might be less likely to happen."

"How do you figure? You'd still be a first time parent." Carlisle finished wrapping the boys arm in a cast and said goodbye to him. He made his way over to where Bella and Edward were still arguing.

"What's going on?" Edward turned to him. "Dad, Bella might be pregnant. Could you run a test? I just want to make sure." Carlisle's eyes widened slightly.

"Okay, first let's get you into a room." He led them into a room. "Have a seat Bella. I'll be right back." He left the room. Bella sat down on the edge of the bed. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at the floor.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

"For what?" He was sitting in one of the other chairs with his chin resting in his hand.

"For forgetting to take my pill and wrecking your life." He glared up at her, but when he saw the sadness in her eyes his expression softened. He came over and sat down next to her.

"Bella, I'm sorry I got so upset, I'm just…I'm scared. I tend to lose my temper when I get scared. I shouldn't have shouted at you." He wrapped his arms around her. She laid her head on his chest. Carlisle came back.

"Alright Bella." He handed her a cup. "You know what to do with that?"

"Yes." She took it and disappeared into the bathroom.

"Carlisle, what am I going to do?" Edward let his head fall back into his hands. "I can't be a father. I'm still going to school, we live in an apartment, we just got married."

"Do you love her?"

"Of course. She's my life." Carlisle sat down next to him.

"You have to realize, Bella's scared too. She's just as afraid if not more so." Edward looked at Carlisle. "It's hard Edward. I'm not going to lie to you. Having a baby is not easy, but I think you and Bella can do it. I remember when I found out your mother was pregnant with Emmett. I was just coming out of medical school and I had just gotten my first job. Esme and I were both very anxious. Neither of us knew what to expect and neither of us thought that we were ready."

"What did you do?"

"I sat down and talked to your grandfather, just like this. He gave me some tips, told me it was hard, but most of all he told me that he believed that me and Esme could handle it. So, the two of us resolved to face whatever happened head on and I think Emmett turned out alright." He chuckled. Edward smiled softly. "I've seen you with Bella, Edward. I know how much you love each other. I think that alone will make you amazing parents. Both of you are very intelligent as well. I think you'll be okay as long as you can stick together through it all." Edward nodded. He looked up at Carlisle.

"So, any tips?"

"Watch out for the eyes. When they unleash the power of those things on you it's hard to stand your ground." Edward laughed. Bella came out of the bathroom and handed the cup to Carlisle. "I'll go run this. I should be back in a few minutes." He left the room and Bella rejoined Edward.

"Are you really mad?"

"No. Bella I'm not mad I'm just scared."

"Me too." They held each other.

"So you drove all the way to Forks to tell me?"

"I didn't want to do it over the phone. It's hard having you so far away."

"It's just for summer. Once school starts up again I'm going to be transferring to Seattle."

"That'll be good. I know our families are here, but it's a long drive from our apartment to here."

"Hmm… Are you going home after you leave here?" Bella shook her head.

"I'm going to go visit my dad first; then Alice and I will head home."

"That sounds fun. Are you going to tell him?"

"Not yet. I want to wait until you're with me and I know that it's going to, you know, work out." He nodded. They looked up as Carlisle came back in. They both leaned in towards him.

"Congratulations. You're going to be parents." Bella, in spite of her anxiety, turned and smiled at her husband.

"Edward."

"Oh wow," he breathed. He kissed her softly. Carlisle cleared his throat.

"Bella you're going to need to find a doctor in Seattle. I don't mind checking up on you, but as you get farther along you shouldn't be making the drive as often." Edward and Bella both nodded. "I'll give you a list of some vitamins you should start taking." He was scribbling on his notepad. "Oh, and, I am so happy for you." He hugged Bella.

"Thank you Carlisle." She hugged him back. They would be okay. If nothing else they had at least one set of supportive parents. She only hoped her parents would be as cool. She wasn't sure. It was a lot like their story and that had not ended well. She took a deep breath.

"Dad, is it alright if I take a little break. I want to have lunch with Bella and I'm sure Alice is dying to hear the news."

"Sure, just let me know when you get back. If I'm not in my office, page me."

"I will." Carlisle handed Bella a list of vitamins and the name of a couple of good doctors in Seattle then left to go back to his rounds. Edward stood and took Bella's hand. "Let's go find Alice." They didn't have to look very hard. She was leaning against the wall outside of the room waiting to ambush them.

"What did he say?!" she nearly screamed.

"Just what the test at home said. I'm pregnant." Alice wrapped her in a bear hug.

"I can't wait to buy it little clothes." Edward chuckled.

"Uh oh. Not even born yet and already doomed to be Alice's doll."

"Shut up Edward. Let's go get food."

Bella nodded. She stole a quick glance up at Edward. He was smiling but there was something just a little off about his expression. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. They went out and Edward drove them to one of Fork's two semi-nice restaurants. As they ate Alice talked animatedly about her plans for the new baby. Bella was only half listening. She kept looking over at Edward he was being very quiet and he definitely wasn't smiling now. One time he looked up and caught her eye. He flashed her a brief smile that had disappeared by the time he shifted his gaze back down. When they had finished Edward paid then drove them back to their car.

"Edward, are you okay." Edward looked up and saw hurt in her eyes. He couldn't stand it. He plastered a smile on his face and was determined to keep it there no matter what he was feeling.

"I'm fine. I should get back in there. Carlisle probably needs help." He hugged her. "Tell your dad I said hello."

"Okay. Are you sure you're alright." He kissed her softly.

"I'm perfect. I'll see you at home." He turned and headed back into the building. Bella got into the car and as Alice started down the road to her father's house, tears began to well up in her eyes. He definitely wasn't okay, no matter what he said and Bella had no idea what to do about it.

"Bella?" Bella quickly wiped the tears away. "Are you okay?"

"I'm…Edward's not happy about this baby at all."

"Bella, I'm sure it's not that. It's an intimidating thing, becoming a parent. He's always been a little down on himself, never thinking he's good enough for anyone. I guess being a parent is no different. It's just the emo that is Edward. I'm sure he is happy about the baby, he just can't get past feeling scared right now. You should offer to babysit Rebecca a lot. Maybe if he spends a lot of time around a baby he'll warm up to the idea."

"Maybe. The practice would be nice. I've just never seen him look so unhappy. It hurts." They arrived at Charlie's house. "Good he's home. Alice don't mention the baby. I don't want dad to know about it until Edward can be here." Alice nodded.

"Just remember to be happy or you'll have to make up something to be sad about." Bella looked in the mirror to make sure her face didn't give her away. Once she was satisfied she and Alice got out of the car and headed up the walk. Bella knocked on the door and after a few moments Charlie answered.

"Hi dad."

"Hey Bells. Hi Alice. What's up?"

"Just thought I would visit. It's been awhile."

"It has been." He hugged her and Alice in turn. "Come on in." She smelled something good in the kitchen.

"Wow, are you cooking?"

"Um, no." He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly.

"Hello Bella." Bella looked around her father and saw her mother standing at the stove.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

"It's kind of a long story." Bella hugged her mom.

"I have time." Renee turned back to the stove and fixed a plate. She handed the plate to Charlie and smiled softly at him.

"Thank you, this looks...interesting." Charlie examined his plate.

"Be nice Charlie." She sat down with her own plate. "Bella did you want anything?"

"No, I just had lunch with Edward. I didn't expect you to be here," Bella prompted.

"Oh, um," Renee looked down at her plate. "Phil and I split up. He said if I liked being with Charlie so much then maybe I should just go live with him. So…here I am."

"You split up? Are you actually… finished?"

"I don't know what to do anymore Bella. I don't think Phil wants this to work."

"And you're living here?" Renee looked over at Charlie, who shrugged.

"For now. I don't know what's going to happen." Renee looked up at Bella. She was carefully studying Bella's face. "Sweetie, what's wrong? You look upset about something?"

Crap. Renee had always been more intuitive than Charlie. "Um," Bella scrambled trying to think of something to say. She looked over at her father. He gave her a concerned look. With both of them looking at her like that, Bella felt cornered.

"Did Edward do something?" Charlie said, suddenly angry.

"No! It's not like that." Suddenly she felt she had no choice but to tell them the truth. Before she could stop herself everything came pouring out.

A/N: Next up is the parents' reactions. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll try to get the next one up soon. Thanks again for the reviews.


	9. Chapter 9: Resolution

Disc: I don't own Twilight, but I love it.

Eternal

Chapter 9: Resolution

As Bella talked she could see Renee's jaw drop. Charlie's face went from shock to anger very quickly. They exchanged worried glances and Bella knew they were thinking about their own marriage. Her mom got up and came around to hug her. "Oh, Bella," she breathed.

"Bella, you can't be- you just got married," Charlie said more harshly than he meant to. Tears sprang to Bella's eyes again. Was nobody but Alice and Carlisle happy about this baby? Charlie looked down at the table. "Sorry, sweetie," he mumbled.

Renee smoothed Bella's hair. "You're just so young." Charlie suddenly slammed his fist down on the table making them both jump.

"Edward should have been more responsible!"

"Dad, it was both of us. This isn't all Edward's fault."

"He's older than you, he should have been more responsible."

"Dad…I forgot to take my pills…" Bella looked down.

"Charlie, stop shouting," Renee scolded.

"Sorry." He hesitated before hugging Bella. "I'm just worried about you."

"I know dad. I expected it. I think Edward and I are going to be okay. We just need to talk about this." Renee nodded.

"You two have a very strong relationship. I'm sure you can work everything out."

"If he does anything to hurt you I'll hunt him down," Charlie promised.

"Dad…"

"Sorry, that's all I'm going to say about it."

"I appreciate it. I don't think you have to worry about Edward doing anything to hurt me, though. I think that's a talk you were supposed to have with him when we first started dating." Charlie shrugged.

"It's still true now."

"Wow," Renee sat down, "we're going to be grandparents." She took Charlie's hand.

"I'm going to be an aunt!" Alice put in. Bella smiled. "We're going to go shopping and get it clothes. It's going to be so much fun."

"Have you thought of any names, sweetie?" Renee asked. Bella shook her head.

"I just found out that I was pregnant today." The conversation suddenly shifted to what she should name her baby and what kind of clothes Alice was going to buy the baby. She breathed a sigh of relief that her parents had taken it so well with only a couple of outbursts. In the back of her mind she worried about how Edward had acted today. She hoped that she could get home and talk to him and that they could work it out. She was keeping her fingers crossed that he wouldn't be upset at her for telling her parents.

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Edward knocked on Carlisle's door. Carlisle looked up. "You're back." Edward nodded. He came in and leaned against the wall. "Is everything okay?"

"I…I think so. I was wondering if it would be alright if I went home early. I really need to get home and talk to Bella. I think," he looked pained, "I think I really hurt her. I didn't mean to I just didn't know how to react and I reacted very badly."

"Of course. You do need to talk to Bella. This is a big deal and you need to come up with a plan." He hugged Edward. "You reacted the way that most first time parents do. You should talk to your brother. I'm sure he went through similar emotions." Edward nodded.

"Thank you, dad. I hope I didn't mess things up with Bella."

"Just talk to her Edward. Bella loves you and she knows you love her. I think what's most intimidating is that this was unexpected and you haven't planned for it. I think that once the two of you discuss this you'll feel better about it. Just let Bella know that you're there for her. That's what she really needs most right now."

"Thanks. Are you going to tell mom?"

"I'll leave that up to the two of you. I am really happy for you. You'll see. It's one of the most wonderful experiences you'll ever have." Edward smiled. "Will you call me later and let me know how it turned out?"

"Of course. Thank you again dad. I don't know what I'd do without out you."

"I love you too, son." He patted Edward on the back as Edward turned and left. Edward got into his car and sat for a long time, thinking. Emmett would be a good person to talk to about this. He pulled out his phone and dialed Emmett's office. Emmett's secretary picked up and told Edward that Emmett had stayed home that day. Edward thanked her then called Emmett's home phone.

"Hello, Edward."

"Hey, Emmett. I tried your office."

"Yeah, I'm babysitting today. Rosalie went out to see if she could get a salon to hire her. How are you?"

"Distressed. Is there any way you can come over? I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure, are you at home?"

"No, I'm sitting in the parking lot at work. I can meet you at my house in an hour."

"Okay, that'll give me time to get Becca ready. Don't tell Rosalie, but we were outside playing in the mud and I have to bathe her."

"Isn't she a little too young to be playing in the mud?"

"You're never too young to play in the mud. Sure she can't run around in it yet, but she seemed to be having fun."

"I bet she loves spending the day with you. I'll see you in an hour."

"See you." They hung up and Edward put the car in gear and headed for home.

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Emmett was sitting outside with Rebecca when Edward pulled up. Edward got out. "Hey, sorry I'm late. I got stuck in some construction traffic. Have you been here long?"

"No, we just got here ten minutes ago. Becca found a cat and she's been fascinated with that." Edward got the door open.

"Come on in." They went into the building and Edward let them into the apartment. He looked around for Bella, but she was still gone. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"I'm okay, but can I make her a bottle?"

"Of course. Help yourself to anything." Emmett handed Rebecca to Edward then began pulling things out of the diaper bag. Edward held Rebecca and rocked her softly.

"So what's up?"

"Hmm?"

"You said you were distressed. What going on?"

"Oh, um…Bella found out today that she's pregnant."

"Seriously?! Wow. That's great news. Why the distress?"

"Are you telling me that you weren't distressed when you found out about Rosalie?"

"I was shocked and nervous, but I don't know that distressed is really the right word."

"I'm more distressed about hurting Bella. She told me and I came off as, less than supportive."

"Oh, wow. So are you guys okay?" He started some water boiling on the stove. Edward shifted Rebecca in his arms.

"I hope so. I think we will be, but I won't know until I can talk to her."

"Where is she?"

"She came to talk to me at the hospital then went to see her father. I assume she's still there. Emmett, I just don't really know how to react to this. I'm starting to accept it , but I'm still scared about having a baby."

Emmett pulled the bottle of formula out of the hot water and tested it before handing it to Edward. "You want to feed her?" Edward nodded and headed over to the sofa to sit down with her. He adjusted her so that she could drink from the bottle more easily. Emmett sat down next to him. "Bro, I'm not going to lie to you. Having a baby is scary. There's constantly something to worry about. There are late nights. The truth is, in spite all of that, it's completely worth it. If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. I couldn't imagine my life without her. What are you most worried about?"

Edward shrugged. "I'm mostly worried that I'm too selfish to be a good father." Emmett laughed. "What?"

"Edward, you are one of the least selfish people I've ever met. That is hard, though. Suddenly you're faced with the fact that it's not about you anymore. You have to think about having another person to take care of. I thought that would be hard to adjust to, but Edward when I saw Rebecca all that went away. It wasn't really hard to shift to thinking about her. A lot of people worry about the expense. You and Bella, you don't have to worry so much about that. You have money and you're getting ready to finish medical school and get a job as a doctor. Bella doesn't work so you won't have to worry about paying for childcare." Rebecca finished her bottle and Edward adjusted her so that she was sitting up more.

"That's a good point. I guess I'm just worried because I don't know what to expect." He laid Rebecca back down and it didn't take long for her to drift off to sleep. Emmett nodded.

"I think I have a way to help you a little with that." Edward waited. Emmett looked as though he was deliberating something.

"What is it?"

"Um, Rosalie and I have been wanting to take a vacation, but we couldn't think of who we would want to leave Rebecca with. We were planning on calling you and Bella about maybe watching her for a week. It might help you guys prepare for having your own baby. It's a little bit different than having a newborn, but it's something. You're so good with Rebecca." Edward smiled.

"We could probably do that. I'll have to talk to Bella first."

"Of course."

"Dad was right. You were a good person to call about this. I do feel better about having this baby. I can actually talk to Bella now without upsetting her."

"I'm glad I could help." They heard Bella's key in the door. She came in.

"Hey, sweetheart," Edward called to her. Bella shut the door and smiled. He sounded like he was in a better mood.

"Hello Edward." She came into the living room. "Hey Emmett."

"Hey Bella." He got up and hugged her. "How is your father?"

"He's doing alright. My mother was there too." Bella stooped down to kiss the top of Rebecca's nose. Then she kissed Edward softly. "I didn't expect you to be home."

"Carlisle let me go home early. Your mother was there?" Bella nodded.

"I guess she's living there right now. She and Phil split up."

"Wow. Is she okay?"

"I think so. She's really enjoying being with dad again."

"Did they get back together?"

"I don't know. I'm a little confused about all of that." She turned to Emmett. "Have you been here for awhile?"

"I've been here for," he looked at the clock, "wow, almost an hour. It didn't feel like that long. I really want to visit with you Bella, but Rose is probably going to be home soon and she'll be wondering where her baby and her husband went."

"Oh, okay. You'll have to come back and visit again soon. I miss you." She hugged Emmett.

"I miss you guys too. I'll definitely have to come back sometime soon. Maybe we can have dinner sometime."

"That would be fun." He picked up his diaper bag and slung it over his shoulder. Edward stood and handed Rebecca over to him.

"Thanks for coming Emmett."

"No problem. Give me a call."

"I will." He walked Emmett to the door and watched him leave. Once Emmett had disappeared down the stairs he turned to face Bella, who was still standing in the middle of the living room. He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her. "Bella, I'm so sorry about how I acted today. I know that you just wanted me to be supportive and I didn't react very well." She held him tightly.

"It's okay. I understand you were scared. I am too."

"I feel a little better about it now. I talked to Emmet about it. Sorry I know I should have waited until you were here, but I knew I would feel better if I talked to someone who had gone through it recently."

"I, um…I told my parents." She looked up at him sheepishly. "Renee could tell that I was upset about something and Charlie thought that you had done something to hurt me. He was ready to go hunt you down and beat you. I had to tell him why I was upset."

"He should have hunted me down and beaten me. It was my fault that you were upset. Bella, I love you. I don't ever want to make you feel that way. I'm sorry that I upset you."

"Can we just sit down and talk about this and what we're going to do?" He nodded and led her over to the couch.

"That's a good idea." He sat down and pulled her down into his lap.

"Edward, I think we can do this. You have money so I think we'll be okay there. I'll be here to take care of the baby so you can finish going to school and get a job."

"That's what Emmett said. I think I'm just worried because I don't know what to expect. Emmett had an idea for how we can prepare for it, somewhat. He and Rosalie want to go on a vacation and he wants us to take Rebecca for a week."

"Sure, that would be fun."

"I wanted to check with you before I said yes because I'll still be working so during the day you'll have to watch her, but Alice could probably help you." Bella nodded.

"I think I can handle that."

"And of course you can call me if you need me." She smiled. "So, how did your parents take it?"

"I think they were worried because it reminded them a lot of their marriage and we're so young. They seemed to be okay by the time Alice and I left. My mom is excited to go baby shopping with us." She buried her face against his chest. "Alice is planning a baby shower."

"Of course she is." He kissed her.

"I love you Edward."

"I love you too. Are you hungry? I could make dinner."

"I am pretty hungry." She moved so that he could get up. He kissed her and got up to head into the kitchen. She watched him and smiled. For the first time today she really felt like they could handle this. She followed him into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around him. "You're going to be an amazing father."

"You'll be a great mother." She took his hand and tugged him towards the bedroom. "What about dinner?"

"There's something I want more than dinner right now."

A/N: Yay. Edward and Bella are better. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll have the next one up soon, hopefully. Reviews and comments are always welcome.


	10. Chapter 10: Dinner With the Cullens

A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I appreciate them all.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Eternal

Chapter 10:

Bella sat down at the Cullen dining room table and tried to ignore the fact that everyone was staring at her. She didn't blame them. She was the reason they were all gathered. As soon as she and Edward had managed to untangle themselves, they had called his parents. Edward had told Esme that they had something important to discuss with them and she had invited them for dinner. Esme was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner and Bella and Edward sat at the dining room table and looked into six pairs of eager eyes. Bella caught Rosalie's eyes and the corners of Rosalie's mouth turned up into friendly smile. Bella returned the smile quickly then looked back down. Jasper kept shooting Alice confused looks as Alice bounced up and down in her seat. Bella stood.

"I'm going to go help Esme." She squeezed Edward's hand before disappearing into the kitchen. "Esme, do you need any help?"

"Oh, I almost have it. If you want to take the bread out and set it on the table I would appreciate that." Bella nodded and grabbed the bread. "Is everything alright with you and Edward? Carlisle won't tell me what's going on."

"Everything's fine. Edward and I are doing great." Esme smiled warmly. Bella smiled back before turning and carrying the bread out. Emmett's eyes grew wide as she set the bowl down and he reached out toward the bread.

"Emmett!" Rosalie scolded and slapped his hand. He pouted at her. "Stop." Bella giggled. Emmett grinned widely at her.

"Sorry Rosie." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. Soon her angry resolve faded and she couldn't help but smile at him. Esme came in with the rest of the food and took her seat next to Carlisle. As soon as she sat down all eyes turned once again to Bella and Edward. Edward took her hand.

"I guess we should go ahead and tell them." Bella nodded.

"Edward and I found out today that we are expecting a baby." Alice couldn't hold it in any more. She squealed loudly. Jasper put a hand over her mouth and stared wide-eyed at Bella and Edward.

"Are you serious?" Bella nodded. Rosalie reached over and put her hand over Bella's.

"Congratulations. If you need anything or want to talk feel free to call me." A confused look crossed Bella's face. She was surprised that Rosalie was being so friendly to her. They weren't enemies, but with the exception of Bella's wedding, Rosalie had not show n any kind of affection towards Bella.

"Wow, thank you Rosalie." Esme came around and hugged Bella.

"I'm so happy for you!" She leaned over and kissed Edward on the cheek. "I have some baby clothes I could probably give you."

"Thank you." Alice launched into telling Esme and Rosalie about her shopping plans. As the girls talked Emmett leaned across to Edward.

"Did you ask her?" Edward nodded.

"She said that would be fine. When are you two planning on going on your vacation?"

"In a couple of days. We'll bring Becca over in the morning, if that's okay. It'll give us time to pack and get a hotel and stuff." Bella disengaged from the shopping conversation and looked over at Emmett.

"Where are you guys going?" Emmett looked over to make sure Rosalie was distracted. He leaned in closer to Bella.

"I'm taking her to New York. I got tickets to a show she's been wanting to see. I hope she's not going to get mad at me for taking her so far away from the baby. It's something she's been worried about."

"We'll take good care of Rebecca and we'll be close to the parents if we need help." Emmett nodded.

"I think that's the only reason Rose is letting me take her. Thank you so much for watching her." Bella smiled.

"It's no problem. I love watching Rebecca. It'll be fun." Emmett looked up. Rosalie was staring at him. He smiled goofily.

"Yes dear?"

"What are you talking about?" Emmett shook his head and shrugged innocently. From the other room Rebecca started crying. Emmett jumped up, but Edward grabbed his arm to push him back down and headed out of the room before Emmett could.

"I'll get her," Edward called back. He went into the living room and scooped Rebecca out of her play pen. "Hello, sweetheart." He rocked her and sang to her softly. Bella smiled. She couldn't wait to see Edward with their own baby. Her hand drifted to her stomach. Rosalie smiled over at her.

"Exciting, isn't it?" Bella nodded.

They finished dinner and Bella stood to help Esme clear the table. "Thank you, Bella," Esme said.

"You're welcome. Um, Esme, does it hurt?" Esme looked at Bella in confusion. "Having a baby, I mean."

"Oh. It's different for everybody. With Emmett it hurt a little more just because he was so big. It didn't hurt for very long though and it was worth it. Edward was early so he was small. It was a little easier. It's funny how much you can tell about your children's personalities from the day their born. When Emmett was born, he never cried, he was always laid back about everything. Edward on the other hand…" Esme laughed softly. "I almost couldn't get a moments peace with him. He was very wound up. I think being a baby frustrated him because he couldn't simply do things for himself and he couldn't talk so it was hard for him to tell us what he wanted. He learned to talk before either of the other two."

Bella laughed. "That sounds like Edward. I wonder what our baby is going to be like." Esme hugged her. "One of the joys of having a baby is being able to find out what kind of people they'll be. I'm so proud of both of you. You're being very grown up about this. I think you'll be wonderful parents." Bella smiled. It was good to hear that from somebody like Esme. She was super mom.

"Thank you Esme." Esme smiled warmly. She handed Bella a pie.

"You might want to hide that from Emmett until you're safely away from it." Bella giggled and headed back out into the dining room with it. Emmett was instantly at her side.

"What's that?" Bella set the pie on the table and stepped away from it quickly.

"Emmett," Esme called from the kitchen, "that pie is for everyone!"

"I know that mom." He gave them all a look that said they would be sorry if they touched the pie. This sent Bella into a new fit of giggles.

Bella and Edward said goodbye to everyone and headed back to Edward's car. He wrapped his arm around her waist. "You know what?" She looked over at him and he smiled. "I'm really starting to feel excited for this baby." Bella laid her head on his shoulder.

"Esme told me that you were a difficult baby." He chuckled.

"Did she?" He opened her door for her and she climbed in. He got in the other side. "I suppose I was. Everything seemed to make me angry. I wanted a toy off of the top shelf, but I couldn't get it myself. As if that wasn't bad enough, I couldn't simply tell them that I wanted it. It was difficult. I guess I was a handful. Esme and Carlisle handled it wonderfully though. They're the most incredible, kind, patient people I've ever met." He had a far off look on his face. "I always hoped that when I had a baby, I could be as a great a father as Carlisle. It's impossible, but it's something to shoot for." Bella took his hand.

"I think you'll be amazing."

"You're biased." She shrugged. She leaned against him and closed her eyes. She listened to his breathing and the sound of his heart.

"Bella," he whispered softly. He shook her softly. "Sweetheart." He kissed her. Her eyes fluttered and she stirred.

"Are we home?"

"Yes." He got out and came around to her side. He reached in and scooped her out of the car. "Shall I carry you?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest. He kissed her forehead and carried her into the apartment. He laid her down on the couch and went into the kitchen. "Do you want tea?" Bella shook her head.

"Edward, I don't feel good." A concerned look crossed his face. He came to her side. He rested a hand on her forehead.

"You feel a little bit feverish."

"My stomach hurts."

"It's probably morning sickness."

"Morning sickness is a lie." He pulled his phone out and called Carlisle. They spoke for a long time before he hung up. "Am I dying?" She smiled weakly.

"He said it sounds like morning sickness." She suddenly jumped up. "Bella?" She pushed past him and rushed into the bathroom. He followed her in there and stooped down next to her. "Bella, sweetheart." She groaned.

"I can't take care of Rebecca like this."

"I'll stay home tomorrow. I'll take care of her. I can get Carlisle to write you a prescription for something that will help." He kissed her neck. She stood up and grabbed her tooth brush.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." He chuckled softly.

"Bella, I love you. I took you in sickness and health." She brushed her teeth then turned and wrapped her arms around him. "Can I do anything for you?"

"You do enough. I think I just need to lie down. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning." He helped her into the bedroom and laid her down. He got her clothes off of her. "This would be hot if I didn't feel so crappy." He smiled as he pulled the blanket up over her.

"Get some sleep, darling."

"Are you going to join me?"

"In a bit. I'm going to go call Carlisle and tell him I'm not coming tomorrow." He kissed her forehead. "I love you." Bella's eyes drifted shut as he left the room.

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Bella woke up to Emmett's booming laughter. She looked over at the clock. It was nine a.m. She sat up and fought the wave of nausea that washed over her. The door opened and Edward came in. "How are you feeling?"

"I think I'll be okay. Is Becca here?"

"Emmett just brought her. Do you want breakfast?" Bella paled and shook her head. "Sweetheart, just lay down and come out when you feel better. I'll bring you whatever you need." Emmett poked his head in the door.

"Hi Bella."

"Hi Emmett." She laid back down. "I'm sorry Edward. I promise I'll get up in a little bit."

"Take your time." He kissed her then followed Emmett back out.

"Is Bella okay?" Emmett looked back at the bedroom door.

"I think so. I think it's pregnancy related." Emmett nodded, knowingly.

"Rose had some of that."

"How long did it last?"

"A couple of months. She got some medicine that made it better." Rebecca crawled up to Emmett and pulled herself into a sitting position. She looked up at Emmett and grinned. He smiled down at her and scooped her up into his arms. She laughed as he nuzzled her. "I'm going to miss you." He hugged her tightly. "Thank you again for taking her Edward."

"It's no problem."

"I should get back. Rose is at home packing all by herself. I hope Bella gets better." He handed Rebecca to Edward and headed for the door. He rattled off all the important phone numbers again as he left. Finally Edward shut the door behind him. He looked down at Rebecca.

"This shouldn't be too hard." Rebecca's expression was hard to read as she stared up at Edward. Suddenly it shifted to real shock. "Becca." Her face crumpled and she started crying and fighting him to get to the door. Uh oh. "Maybe this won't be so easy."

A/N: Sorry to cut it off like that. I wanted to make a clean cut. Next chapter Bella and Edward try their hands at parenting. Enjoy.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I hope you enjoy.

Disc: I don't own Twilight.

Eternal

Chapter 11:

Edward leaned back against the couch. It had taken a half hour and all of the toys Emmett had brought to distract Rebecca enough to remember that she loved her uncle Edward. She looked over and smiled, holding up a set of plastic keys. He chuckled softly. "Rebecca you are something." She laughed. Edward picked up the phone and called Carlisle.

"Hello?"

"Dad, I had a question. Bella has morning sickness and I'm not really sure what to do for her." Becca crawled up into his lap.

"Have you tried giving her crackers, or tea? That helps. If you'd like I can call in a prescription."

"I would appreciate it. I'm so worried about her. She hasn't gotten out of bed yet."

"She'll be alright. It's a normal part of pregnancy. I'll call that prescription in and you can pick it up when it's convenient."

"Thanks dad." Rebecca giggled.

"What was that?"

"Rebecca. We're watching her for the week," Edward reminded him.

"That sounds fun. Give us a call if you need any help."

"We will. Thanks again, dad." Edward hung up and wrapped his arms around Becca. "Let's go make some tea for Aunt Bella." He made his way into the kitchen and sat her on the counter next to him. He started water for tea. "What are we going to do with Bella?" He shook his head.

"Edward?" He looked up and saw Bella standing in the doorway. "Why did you let me sleep so long?"

"I figured you needed it. Are you feeling any better?"

"A little bit. Now I'm just tired." She came over and picked Rebecca up. "Hello sweetheart." Rebecca looked startled for a moment before she started crying again. "Wh- Becca…" She looked up at Edward. "What did I do?"

"Nothing, she just doesn't know you. It took me a half hour to get her to stop crying at me." Bella held Rebecca close and rocked her. She hummed softly. It wasn't long before Rebecca's crying died down to a soft whimper.

"There. See I'm not so scary." Rebecca leaned back so that she could poke Bella's face. Bella laughed. "I love her." Edward smiled.

"Me too. She's cute. I made you some tea. Dad said that it might make you feel better. He also called in a prescription. I can go pick it up later if you'd like."

"Thank you, Edward. You're such a sweetheart." She sipped at her tea. "I think Becca might need changed."

"You drink your tea. I'll take care of it." He took Becca back and went into the living room. He laid her down on the floor and dug through the diaper bag. She giggled and squirmed as he changed her.

"How do you know how to do that?"

"What?"

"How do you know how to change a diaper?"

"I changed Alice's diapers." He finished and tickled Rebecca.

"Will you show me how?"

"Sure, it isn't very hard. Can you keep an eye on her?" Bella came and sat down with Rebecca while Edward cleaned up.

"I wonder what our baby will be like." Edward washed his hands then came to sit next to Bella. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"

"I don't think it matters. Healthy works for me." He pulled Becca up into his lap. "I hope the baby looks like you." Bella shook her head.

"I hope it looks like you." Edward kissed her softly.

"You're ridiculous Bella. Are you feeling better?"

"I am. I think that the tea worked."

"I'm glad it helped. I was starting to worry about you. Do you think you could handle some breakfast now?"

"I think so." Her stomach rumbled in agreement. He chuckled and handed Rebecca to her.

"Is an omelet okay?" Bella nodded. She picked up one of Rebecca's toys and handed it to the excited toddler. She laughed as she watched Rebecca play. Her hand drifted to her stomach again. She wondered for the millionth time what their baby would be like. She hoped that the baby would be healthy. After seeing him with Rebecca, she knew that Edward would be able to handle this at the very least. There was a knock on the door pulling Bella out of her thoughts. She adjusted Rebecca so that she could stand and answered the door. Her mom smiled at her.

"Mom!" She gave her a tight one-armed hug.

"Hey sweetie." Renee stepped back. "Who is this?"

"This is Emmett's daughter Rebecca." Renee looked confused. "Edward's brother. The big one."

"Oh, I liked him. She's so cute. Can I see her?" Bella nodded and handed Rebecca over to Renee.

"We're watching her for a week while Emmett and his wife are on vacation. It'll be some kind of practice for us. It's really fun to have her here." Renee stepped in and called a greeting to Edward.

"Hello, Renee. Can I get you anything?"

"I'm alright."

"So mom, what are you up to today?" Renee shrugged.

"Charlie went to work and I missed you so I thought I would drive down and see if you wanted to go do something."

"Um…maybe going wouldn't work out so well today, but I would love to visit with you." Renee smiled.

"That sounds fun."

"Has anything new happened since I last talked to you?" Renee got very quiet and stared off into space for a while. "Mom?"

"I got divorce papers in the mail yesterday."

"Oh, mom, I'm sorry." Renee shrugged.

"It was sad, but I saw it coming. I signed them and put them back in the mail today."

"What are you going to do now? Are you going back to Florida and find a different place, or are you going to move back to Arizona?" Bella took Rebecca who was reaching out for her.

"I was actually thinking about staying in Forks with Charlie. I started looking for jobs a few days ago." Bella looked down at her hands.

"So, I've been wondering…Are you and dad…getting back together?" Renee sighed and smiled.

"Bella, I think I'm starting to remember why I fell in love with your father in the first place."

"You're falling in love with dad?" Bella stared at her mother wide-eyed.

"I think so. Lately…it just makes me happy to be with him. We've been getting along so well."

"Mom," Bella hated to point it out, "you hate Forks."

"I've found a reason to like it. You used to hate being in Washington, but Edward gave you something to love about the place." Bella nodded. It was true. She had hated being in Washington with all of the rain and clouds, but Edward had given her a reason to like being in Washington. "So I guess, in answer to your question…yes, you're father and I seem to be getting back together. I haven't really discussed it with him yet, but he seems to want it too." Renee looked like a love-struck teenager when she talked about Charlie. Bella couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. It was exciting to think about her parents together again. She only hoped that they could make it work this time.

"Do you think you and dad will be okay this time?"

"I really think so Bella. When we first got married we were both young and didn't know what to expect. I'm older now and I've been married. Charlie and I have learned how to deal with whatever life throws at us better and in a more mature fashion."

"I'm really happy for you, mom. I know that dad is crazy about you."

"He is?"

"He hasn't told you?" Renee shook her head.

"Well, you know your father. It's not really like him to say things like that."

"I can tell." Edward came in and handed Bella a plate. "Thank you sweetheart." She smiled up at him. He kissed her forehead.

"Do you want me to take Becca?" Bella nodded and handed Rebecca to him. Edward sat down with her. "What did I miss?"

"Mom and dad are getting back together." Bella couldn't help but smile. "This omelet is fantastic. I didn't realize I was so hungry."

"You haven't eaten since early last night. I'm glad you're feeling better." Renee shook her head.

"I just can't believe how well the two of you get along. I'm not the least bit worried about your marriage." Bella smiled and glance over at Edward. He returned her smile with a gentle, loving look. Rebecca started to squirm and whimper. Edward stood and rocked her a bit.

"She's probably hungry. I need to go make her bottle."

"I'll take her." Bella set her now empty plate aside and held out her arms. Edward handed Rebecca back to her and went to make a bottle. Renee smiled.

"I'm not worried about the two of you being parents either."

"Thanks mom. At least Edward seems to know what he's doing."

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Renee stayed for a long time talking to Bella about everything that had been going on. While they talked Edward went out to pick up Bella's prescription and another package of diapers. When he came back he fed Rebecca again then put her down in their room for a nap. Around the time that Edward starting discussing dinner with Bella, Renee looked up at the clock. She gasped and stood. "I should get back. Charlie's going to be home and I haven't even thought about dinner. You know how he gets hungry at work." Bella nodded and hugged her mom.

"It was really good to see you, mom. Good luck with dad. I really am happy for you."

"Thanks Bella. I'll see you later, Edward." She hugged Edward. "Take care of her."

"I will." Renee left and headed home. "So," Edward said turning to Bella, "dinner?" He flashed that smile that made Bella melt and headed into the kitchen to start cooking. Rebecca started crying and Bella went and got her. She took her in the living room to play with her. As they played she watched Edward. Seeing him with Rebecca made her feel less worried about having a baby of their own. He brought in a bottle and handed it to Bella.

"How's dinner coming?"

"It's cooking. So we've almost survived our first day with Becca."

"You're really good at all this parenting stuff." He shrugged.

"You know it'll be different when we have a newborn baby of our own. Rebecca can do a lot of things that a newborn isn't going to be able to do."

"I know. I still think that we can handle it." He nodded. "Are you going back to work tomorrow?"

"Actually Carlisle said that I could have the week off to help you so I'll be staying home. Hopefully you won't get too sick of me."

"I don't even think that it's possible for me to get sick of you."

"Just wait." The oven started beeping and Edward kissed Bella then went to tend dinner. She smiled at him. She knew that even if she lived a hundred years with Edward, nothing he could do would ever make her sick of him.

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Renee pulled into the driveway, relieved to see that Charlie hadn't come home yet. She went in and made her way into the kitchen to start dinner. It was definitely a challenge. Charlie hardly had any food in the refrigerator. She would have stopped at the store if she hadn't been so frantic to beat Charlie home. She dug around and finally found two cans of tomato soup. An idea struck her. She dug around in another cabinet and found a loaf of bread. In the refrigerator she found some cheese and butter. She began throwing it all together into two grilled cheese sandwiches. As she cooked she took several deep breaths. She hadn't really discussed her feelings with Charlie and she had decided that tonight was the night. She only hoped that he shared her feelings. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear when Charlie snuck up behind her. "That smells fantastic." She jumped and spun around.

"Charlie."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Renee laughed nervously.

"It's alright. Sorry dinner isn't ready yet. I just got home."

"That's okay. I'm going to go check on the game." Renee nodded.

"I'll get you when it's ready." He went to watch the game and she worked on finishing dinner. Finally she was plating the food. "Charlie, dinner." He came in. "How's the game." He shrugged.

"It's kind of disappointing. This looks wonderful." They sat down.

"It's just grilled cheese and tomato soup." She poked at her soup. "So um, I mailed my divorce papers back."

"Are you doing okay?"

"I think so. Charlie, there's something I've been wanting to talk about with you." He looked up expectantly. "Lately, I've been thinking about us." Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Especially with the divorce…" She sighed. She decided the best way to go about it was to come right out and say it. "Charlie, I'm falling in love with you again." His face went bright red and he dropped his spoon.

"Wh- Renee…"

"I know things didn't work out for us the first time, but we were both young and inexperienced, and I know that I was scared. We're older now, we could work out."

"Wait, are you telling me you want to…get back with me?" Renee looked down and nodded.

"I do love you Charlie. I never really stopped loving you, I just didn't know how to handle being a wife and a mother." He reached his hand across the table and placed it on top of hers. She looked up at him. He looked pained, as if he was trying to say something that was hard for him to say.

"I…love you too Renee. I'm not sure how well it will work, but, we can try." Renee smiled. She leaned across the table and hesitated before brushing her lips over Charlie's. His eyes widened in shock, but after a moment he kissed back, softly. Renee pulled back.

"Wow, I don't know what came over me. Sorry." Charlie cleared his throat.

"So, um…this is the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever had." Renee couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you. It's a secret family recipe." She looked back down briefly before looking up at him again. "So, should we start out with just dating or… I've just never…I'm not sure how this works."

"It would probably best to start out with dating and ease back into it. We don't want to move too fast or we could just wind up having the same problems we had the first time." Renee nodded in agreement. "Um, are you free tomorrow night?" She smiled.

"I'll have to check my calendar, but I don't think I'm doing anything tomorrow night."

"Great. Can I pick you up at 7?"

"Seven would be perfect." He smiled and stood to take his dishes to the sink. He looked down at the dishes in the sink then towards the living room then back down at the dishes. Renee laughed. "I'll wash those, Charlie. You can go check on the game."

"Thanks, Renee." He kissed her softly on the cheek before making his way to the living room. She shook her head. Some things never changed. She hummed as she started on the dishes.

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up. I keep starting on it too late and falling asleep in the middle of it. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but as Halloween is approaching, I'll be a little busy trying to sew little scraps of fabric together to make the dress for my Sally costume. So if I don't make it before Halloween, Happy Halloween.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Here's chapter 12. Thanks again for all the reviews.

Disc: Stephenie Meyers owns Twilight.

Eternal

Chapter 12:

"Bella do you want to do this?" Edward called from the living room. Bella came back in from the kitchen. She came over to where Edward was getting ready to change Rebecca. It had been three days since she had been dropped off at their apartment and Edward had been showing Bella how to take care of her little by little. She fidgeted nervously.

"I'll probably mess it up."

Edward smiled and chuckled softly. "Bella you'll be fine. You've done everything else just fine. I'm confident that you can handle this. She's on the ground so she can't fall and get hurt." He grabbed her arm and pulled her down next to him. "Now, it's important to have a new diaper, the wipes, and the powder ready before you start." Bella drew check marks in the air as she checked that he had gotten out all of those things. Rebecca was squirming and giggling. Bella couldn't help but giggle with her. "Anyway… Now you just open up the diaper." He waited while Bella did that. Then she picked up a wipe and cleaned Becca off like she had seen Edward do. She reached for the powder and he stopped her and grabbed the new diaper. "Put that on first and roll up the old one." Bella did that and put the new diaper under Rebecca. She powdered her then fastened the new diaper. He checked it to make sure it wasn't too tight or too loose then he kissed her. "Good job Bella. I knew you could do it." She picked everything up and washed her hands. "Would you like to put her down for a nap?"

"Yes." She came back and picked Rebecca up and carried her into the room. She sat down on the bed and rocked Rebecca back and forth. Slowly Rebecca drifted off. Bella kissed her cheek then laid her down and covered her. Edward went over and closed the blinds. He took Bella's hand and they left the room. He wrapped his arms around her.

"You're going to be an amazing mother." She smiled.

"Thanks for helping me Edward." The phone rang.

"I'll get that," he said heading toward the living room. He picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, bro, it's Emmett. How's it going?"

"It's going well. Becca's a really great kid."

"Do you and Bella feel like you're getting good practice?"

"I think so. It's not the same as having a newborn, but it's something."

"Rose and I really appreciate you guys watching her. We're probably going to head home. Rose isn't feeling really great. I'm probably going to come by and get Rebecca tonight if that's alright."

"That would be fine. We'll be here. We could keep her another night if Rose needs to rest."

"I think Rose really misses her. That's part of it."

"Okay. We'll see you tonight then."

"See you." Emmett hung up. Edward turned toward Bella.

"Emmett's coming to pick Rebecca up tonight. Rose isn't feeling very well."

"Oh, I hope she's alright." Edward sat down on the couch and Bella sat next to him. She leaned against him. "I love you Edward."

"I love you too." Bella moved so that she was straddling Edward's lap. She kissed him hungrily. Edward wrapped his arms around her and kissed back. She tangled her fingers in his hair and sighed.

"I've missed you," she breathed. He leaned his forehead against hers.

"I miss you too, but we can't do this with Rebecca in the next room." Bella whimpered a little. "Sorry sweetheart." He pulled her against him and she laid her head on his chest. "You were really great with Becca today."

"Thank you for helping me with her. Sometimes I wish I had had a little brother or sister to practice on."

"Your parents are still young. You could still get a little brother or sister."

"That would be weird. I guess I wouldn't mind that, but it would definitely be weird." He stroked her back. "What should we do until she wakes up?"

He shrugged. "We could sit here and hold each other."

"That sounds fun. I could work on dinner."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "You're going to make dinner?" She slapped his chest.

"Don't act like it's a surprise. Just because you usually do it doesn't mean that I can't. I could make tacos."

He laughed. "Tacos sound good. Do we have all the stuff?"

"I don't think so. I think I need to go buy some stuff." Edward dug in his pocket and fished out his credit card.

"I'll stay here and watch Becca," he said as he handed it to her. She got up.

"Do we need anything else?" Edward shook his head. She kissed him. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She grabbed his car keys and headed out to the store. He leaned back against the couch and, before he knew it drifted off to sleep.

"Edward." Bella kissed him softly and he started awake. "You fell asleep silly." He sat up.

"How long was I asleep?"

Bella shrugged. "I was only gone for half an hour." She went in the kitchen to put things away.

Edward stood. "Do you want help?"

"I'll get it. You rest. You deserve it." She got some pans out and started browning meat for the tacos. "Do you think Emmett will want tacos?"

"Probably. You know how he feels about food." Rebecca started fussing. "I got her." She stared after Edward as he headed out of the room. She rested a hand on her stomach.

"You are so lucky to have a dad like that," she told the baby quietly. She smiled and went back to making dinner.

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Renee threw yet another outfit aside and an exasperated sigh escaped her throat. Her stomach was full of butter flies. She didn't know why she was so nervous. This wasn't the first time she and Charlie had gone on a date. It was the first time that she had been on a date in a long time. She rolled her eyes toward her closet and they fell on a cute dress that Bella had bought her. She hadn't worn it in years. She pulled it out and put it on. It was perfect. She looked at the clock. She had about an hour before Charlie came home from work. She changed back into her jeans and t-shirt outfit and busied herself cleaning the house while she waited. She jumped when she heard Charlie's car in the drive. She ran to meet him at the door. "Hi Charlie."

"Wow, hi." They hugged each other then she stepped out of the way so that he could come in. She watched him as he hung his belt up.

"How was work?" He shrugged.

"It was slow. I had to go break up a fight." Renee gasped.

"A fight in Forks?"

"It was a couple of high school students. How was your day?"

Renee smiled. "I spent a whole hour agonizing about what to wear tonight then I cleaned. I actually just got finished." He looked around.

"It looks great in here."

"The dust bunnies were so big I was ready to start naming them."

Charlie blushed a little. "I guess I didn't clean much after Bella left."

"It's okay. It gives me something to do. I know we said seven, but I'm starving."

Charlie nodded. "Me too. Let me go change and we'll go out." Charlie stood and went into his bedroom. He quickly slipped out of his uniform and into a pair of jeans and a black sweater. There was a soft knock on the door. He opened it and found Renee standing there.

She took in the sight of him. "Wow." They stood and stared at each other for a long time. Renee shook her head to clear it. "Sorry, I was having trouble zipping my dress."

"Okay." She turned around and felt his hand brush up her spine as he zipped the dress up. His hand lingered at her neck. She shuddered and her breath caught as he brushed his hand over her neck. "You look beautiful," he whispered. She turned to face him. His mouth hung open like he wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. She leaned in and brushed her lips against his. He gasped and wrapped his arms around her. Their lips crashed together and their kisses grew more passionate. She tilted her head and breathed his name as he trailed kisses along her jaw and down her neck. "Renee." He pulled her against him.

"Charlie…" She pulled back. "We're supposed to be taking it slow." He took several deep breaths.

"Sorry. We should get to dinner." Renee nodded. They went out and got into Charlie's cruiser.

"You're a really good kisser," Renee almost whispered. Charlie cleared his throat.

"We could still go back and finish."

"Just keep going Charlie."

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Bella was just finishing up dinner when there was a knock on the door. She answered it and found Emmett standing there. "Emmett!" She hugged him tightly. He picked her up in a bear hug. "Emmett, too tight."

He put her down. "Sorry."

"How was your trip?"

"It was really great. Up until the part where Rose got sick."

"Is she feeling better?"

"She seems to be. She's anxious to see her baby."

"Edward is bathing her. He should be done soon. Would you like dinner?" Emmett eyed the taco ingredients hungrily. "I have meat and cheese and guacamole and sour cream…" His mouth was watering.

"Well, maybe I have time to have a little bit."

"Help yourself." That was all the invitation Emmett needed. He came in and grabbed a plate. Soon he had made himself three tacos and was eating them as fast as he could.

"Slow down," came Edward's voice from the living room. "I'm sure mom would be thrilled to see that she raised a wild animal."

"Hi Edward," he said around a mouthful of taco.

"Hi Emmett." Edward shifted Rebecca so that she was sitting more comfortably. "Bella those look great."

"Thanks, darling. Go ahead and have some." She took Rebecca from him and kissed him softly.

"Thank you." Edward grabbed a plate and made himself a couple of tacos.

"What was wrong with Rosalie," Bella asked.

Emmett swallowed. "Her stomach was bothering her. I think she really had a hard time being away from Rebecca. Maybe New York was too far away."

"Did she like the show?"

"She loved it." His phone rang. "That's her." He answered. "Hey baby, what's up?"

"Emmett, where are you?"

"I'm at Edward and Bella's?"

"Are you coming home?"

"I'm on my way."

"Okay, I love you."

"Love you too, babe." He hung up. "I need to get going. Thank you for the taco's Bella."

She nodded. "No problem." Edward set his plate aside.

"I'll help you get Becca's stuff out to the car." They went out carrying all of Rebecca's things. After that they came in and Emmett took Becca.

"Did you miss me baby?" Emmett kissed her cheek. She giggled. "Thanks again for watching her. We really appreciated it."

Edward picked his plate back up. "It was no problem. She's a really good baby," he said smiling. Emmett hugged Edward, then Bella.

"I'll talk to you guys later." He left with Rebecca. Bella got herself a plate and sat down at the counter. Edward finished his tacos and came to stand behind Bella. She moaned when he began to massage her shoulders.

"Edward, you can't imagine how good that feels." He kissed her neck.

"What are we going to do with ourselves now that Rebecca's gone?" Bella shrugged.

"Scrabble?" She shivered when Edward brushed his nose across the back of her neck.

"We could do that." He kissed the base of her neck. She leaned back against him. He scooped her up in his arms and she dropped her half eaten taco back onto her plate.

"Something tells me you're not really interested in scrabble."

"Hmm…what would give you that idea?"

"Fine, we'll do what you want to do." He chuckled as he carried her into the bedroom.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to update. After Halloween it got kind of crazy. I put lemons in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Eternal

Chapter 13: In Desperate Need of a Shower

Renee lay awake in Bella's old bed listening to the sound of silence in the house. She looked once again at the door. She had been trying for two unsuccessful hours to get to sleep but she couldn't get her mind off of Charlie. Dinner had been fun, Charlie had been a gentleman, they had joked and laughed, but there had been a tense undercurrent to the whole date after what had happened before the date. She just kept thinking of the feel of Charlie's lips on hers, the burning sensation his hands had left on every part of her they touched. She sighed loudly. Even in the small house, Bella's room seemed like it was miles from Charlie's. Renee closed her eyes and willed sleep to come. After five minutes her eyes flew open. With a sound of exasperation she threw the covers back and slipped quietly out of the bed. She crept down the hall, avoiding all of the creaky places in the floor. She finally came to a stop in front of Charlie's door. She hesitated before pushing the door open. She advanced towards the bed where Charlie was sleeping peacefully, only stopping when he whispered her name. Once she was sure he was still asleep she came to his bedside and crawled in next to him. With a gasp Charlie woke.

"Renee? What are you doing?" She silenced him with her mouth. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. He groaned softly when he felt her tongue run over his bottom lip. Suddenly he pulled back. "Renee," he panted, "what about taking it slow?" She shook her head.

"Charlie I can't. I've been trying to go to sleep for the last two hours and I can't stop thinking about you." It was then that she looked at what he was wearing. He was in nothing but black boxers. She blushed slightly. "Do you always sleep so…undressed?"

"It's hot in here." He noticed that she was only dressed in a large t-shirt.

"It is hot in here," she purred seductively. Charlie blushed and cleared his throat. Renee brought her lips back to his and kissed him hungrily. He rolled over so that he was on top of her. She moaned softly and tilted her head as he moved to kiss her neck. "Charlie." She tangled her fingers in his hair. She pulled him down against her. He slid his hands under her shirt and discovered that she really wasn't wearing anything more than the t-shirt. Hesitantly he ran his hand over her breasts. He smiled slightly when she shuddered under his touch. He grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head. He gasped as he took in her body.

"Renee, you're amazing."

She smiled softly. "You too." She moaned and arched into him as he brought his mouth to work over breast. He ran a hand down her body until he found her center. "Charlie, please, I need you." He kissed her softly. She found the waist of his boxers and, with his help, got them off and threw them aside. He positioned himself and kissed her deeply as he entered her. She wrapped her arms around him and moaned his name as he started a slow and gentle pace. She had forgotten how good this felt. Far too soon Charlie pushed her over the edge and she cried his name as she reached climax. He quickly followed her. He collapsed on top of her and they held each other for a long time.

He chuckled softly. "So much for taking it slow."

"I love you, Charlie." He moved so that he was laying next to her.

"I love you too."

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Bella and Edward woke to a persistent rhythmic knocking. Bella sat up and a wave of nausea washed over her. She must have made a sound or paled visibly because Edward gently pushed her back down and kissed her before getting up, dressing, and going to answer the door. Alice was standing there bouncing up and down on her toes. In her hands were several paper bags. "Morning Alice," Edward yawned.

"Morning!"

"What are those?"

"Surprises. Is Bella here?" Edward nodded and stepped out of the way so that Alice could come in.

"She's still in bed. I don't think that she's feeling very well. If you want to hang out I'm going to give her a pill and start some breakfast." Alice sat down at the counter and watched as Edward grabbed a glass of water and a pill. He headed back into their bedroom. He crawled onto the bed and kissed Bella's forehead. "Sweetheart, take this, it will make you feel better." She sat up and took the pill from him.

"Thank you."

He wrapped his arms around her. "Now, do you want the bad news?" Bella looked at him cautiously. "Alice is here and she's armed with several paper bags that she's claiming are surprises." Bella groaned.

"I wonder what she's up to." Edward kissed her.

"Don't worry about it. I'm going to go start breakfast. Just get up when you're ready." He got back up and went back into the living room.

"I heard that Edward Cullen," Alice scolded. Edward looked at her innocently. "I am not bad news."

"Alice I'm sure whatever you have planned for Bella, she's not going to like."

"She'll like it. Is she getting up?"

"When she's ready." He went in the kitchen and started getting stuff together to make biscuits and gravy. "Do you want breakfast?"

"Yes."

"So what are you up to?"

Alice glanced back toward the bedroom door. "I'm throwing Bella a baby shower. These are decorations. Bella's mom is supposed to come to take her shopping so that I can decorate."

Edward raised his eyebrows. "You're doing it here, today?" Alice nodded.

"And you're going to have to go hang out with Emmett and Jasper. You're not invited."

"You're not taking Bella shopping?"

"I would like to, but somebody has to put up all these streamers." She stopped talking abruptly when Bella came in. "Hi Bella."

"Hello, Alice." Bella eyed the bags warily. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting."

Edward looked up from the stove where he was browning sausage. "Morning, sweetheart. Are you feeling better?"

"A little bit," she came around the counter and kissed him softly. "I think I need to eat something."

"It'll be ready soon. Do you want some tea?"

"Yes please." She went and sat down next to Alice. "How have you been, Alice."

Alice smiled. "I've been great. Jazz and I have been talking about babies lately. Wouldn't it be fun if we were pregnant at the same time?"

Bella's eyes widened. "Are you-?"

"No, not yet. We've just been talking. I don't think Jasper is completely ready yet."

Edward set tea down in front of Bella. "Thank you," she smiled at him. "Edward's so amazing," she told Alice softly. She saw Edward blush just a little bit. "Edward, I have a doctor's appointment today. Are you going to come?"

"Of course."

"Alice, you can come if you want." Alice bit her lip. She really did want to go, but she already had plans.

"Thank you, but I have plans with Jasper. When is your appointment?"

Bella looked up at the clock. "In an hour. We'll probably have to leave in a half hour so that we can fill out paper work."

"Well, good luck at the doctor. Let me know how it all goes."

"I will." Edward sat a plate down in front of her. "This looks fantastic."

Edward chuckled. "I take it you're feeling better."

"Much better." Edward fixed Alice a plate then got himself a plate and joined them at the counter.

"When do you go back to work, Edward?" Alice asked.

"Monday. I took the whole week off to help Bella with Rebecca, but they came and got her early. I guess I'll just have to hang out with Bella for the next few days." He flashed Bella a wide grin.

"I'm sure Carlisle would let you come back early if hanging out with me is such a chore." Bella stuck her tongue out at him.

"Careful Bella. If I see that again, I might just take it."

"Come and get it then."

Alice cleared her throat. "Maybe when I'm not here?" she said quietly. Edward laughed.

"Sorry, Alice."

Bella eyed the bags again. "So, what's in the bags."

Alice shrugged. "Some things I picked up at the store. I just haven't made it home with them yet."

"Edward said they were surprises."

"They are. They're surprises for Jasper."

"Can I see them?"

"Not until Jasper does. I'm not taking any chances of a leak. This is really great, Edward."

Bella didn't miss the abrupt subject change, but she ignored it. She finished her food and dropped her plate in the sink. "It really was. I'm going to go get ready to go." She kissed him softly then headed back into the bedroom.

"Surprises for Jasper?"

"I couldn't tell her that they were streamers for her baby shower. I think she bought it."

"Hate to break it to you sis, I don't think she did. Bella's pretty quick." He gathered up their dishes and put them in the sink. Then he busied himself with putting food away and washing the dishes. "I don't think she knows about the shower though. She probably expects it given your fondness for throwing parties." He stopped scrubbing the dishes and looked up at her. "Why aren't I invited? It's my baby."

"Edward. Baby showers are just for the girls. Jasper and Emmett don't get to come either."

"It's not Jasper or Emmett's baby."

"If you're going to make a big deal out of it, you can come. Jasper and Emmett are going to be disappointed and bored without you."

"I doubt that. Rockband is an addictive game."

"We're playing Rockband?" Bella's voice came from the living room. Edward turned to face her.

"I'm not playing Rockband. I prefer real instruments."

"He's just mad because he's bad at Rockband," Alice whispered.

Bella shook her head. "I can't imagine Edward being bad at anything. Sweetheart, we should get going so we can get there early. Maybe they can get us in earlier."

He nodded. "I'm finished."

Alice pouted. "Are you kicking me out then?"

"I'm afraid so. Unless you want to clean our apartment while we're out."

"I'll pass. I need to get back home to Jasper anyway. Let me know what happens at the doctor."

Bella smiled. "We'll let you know." She hugged Alice. "Thanks for coming and having breakfast with us."

"Thanks for letting me visit. I'll walk out with you guys." Edward grabbed his keys and guided Bella out the door. Alice followed close behind them. Halfway down the hall Alice let out an exasperated sigh. "I forgot one of my bags." They started back towards the door. "You guys go ahead. I don't want you to be late. If I could just borrow a set of keys." Bella handed Alice her keys. "Thank you. I'll leave them on the counter."

"Okay. Are you sure you don't want us to stay?"

"I'll be okay. Go ahead." Alice headed back into the apartment and Edward and Bella headed out of the building. Once they were in the car Bella turned to face Edward.

"Alice is up to something."

"What makes you think that?"

"Surprises for Jasper?"

"Alright, but it's really important to her. Try to act surprised."

"Sure, I'll try to fit surprised in with mortified. Do you know what she's planning?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"No way. I told you she was planning something, but I'm not at liberty to tell you what."

"Edward." He shrugged. Bella leaned back against the seat and pouted.

Alice stood in the doorway and looked around the apartment. She didn't have much time and had no idea where to start. She bent down and began pulling things out of the bag. She decided that the best course of action was just to start. The apartment was not going to decorate itself.

A/N: Again, sorry this took so long. I'll try to get the next one up sooner. There will be more Renee in the next chapter. Enjoy


	14. Chapter 14

Disc: I don't own Twilight

Eternal

Chapter 14

Charlie opened his eyes. The first sight that met his was Renee sleeping peacefully by his side. He smiled and kissed her softly. Her eyes fluttered open. "Charlie." She wrapped her arms around him. "What time is it?" Charlie's eyes slid to the clock over her shoulder. He sat up suddenly.

"I have to get to work!" He jumped out of bed and started grabbing his clothes. Renee sat up and clutched the sheet to her.

"You sure you have to go now? Surely they can last a few hours without you." He stopped in his frantic search to find his shoe.

"They need me there. I've never been late before, they'll think something happened to me." He leaned down and kissed her. "I'll be home tonight though." He started looking around for his shoe again. Renee rolled her eyes and leaned over retrieving it from under the bed.

"If you'd just put your shoes by the door, you'd always know where they were." She crossed her arms over her chest. "It wouldn't hurt you to call in every once in a while."

"Are you mad at me?"

Renee sighed. "No, I'm not mad. I just thought that we could spend some more time together." He kissed her.

"I'm not feeling so great. Maybe I'll come down with something tonight."

"I'll believe that when I see it." She got up and grabbed his robe. "I can't believe that you still have this thing. How many Christmas's ago did I give you this?"

Charlie shrugged. "Before Bella was born." Renee came over and fixed his collar.

"You look handsome." She kissed him. "Do you want breakfast?"

"I'll grab something on the way."

"Do you have time for coffee?"

"I have a few minutes."

"I'll go start it." She headed downstairs to start coffee. The phone rang and Renee answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Alice."

"Hi Alice. Is everything okay? Is Bella alright?"

"Bella's fine. I just wanted to let you know that Bella had a doctor's appointment this morning so when you come she won't be here. Edward's supposed to be keeping her out of the house."

"Okay. I'll give her a call before I head up there? Thanks for letting me know. Do you need any help with the shower?"

"Rosalie's should be on her way over here. I just need you and Edward to keep her out."

"Alright. I think I can handle that. I'll see you later."

"Who was that?" Renee jumped and turned to face Charlie.

"It was Alice. She's putting a baby shower together for Bella and needs me to come keep her out of the house for a while." She poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Charlie.

"Thanks Renee." He sipped at his coffee. "Last night was fun."

Renee smiled and blushed slightly. "It was. I'm looking forward to doing it again."

Charlie choked on his coffee and turned bright red. "Me too." He looked at the clock. "I need to get going. I'll see you tonight." He kissed her softly before grabbing his belt and heading out to the cruiser. Renee watched him until he pulled out of the drive. She shut the door then picked up the phone to call Bella.

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Alice answered the door after the fourth knock. "It's about time," Rosalie said piling Alice's arms full of bags.

"Where's the cake?"

"In the car. I couldn't carry it with all the bags. You know people don't usually have baby showers until the mother is further along."

"I couldn't wait. Besides if I waited until she was further along she would expect it then I'd have to fight her. It's best if we just let her be surprised. Go get the cake so you can come help me decorate. Edward and Renee can't keep her out forever." Rosalie rolled her eyes and headed back out to get the cake. She came back in and set it up on the counter.

"Where should I start?" Without a word, Alice handed her a handful of balloons. Rosalie planted herself on the couch and started on the pile.

"Where's Rebecca?"

"She wanted to stay with her daddy. She's been so attached to him lately. It's cute."

"I was surprised that Emmett was such a good father. He's never really struck me as the father type," Alice stated.

"I was a little bit worried about it to, but he's done so well. It was like instinctual with him."

"I wonder how Edward will do," Alice giggled. "I'm going to start seriously thinking about babies soon. I'm getting left behind."

"Is Jasper ready?"

Alice shrugged. "I think he could be ready. We've only just started talking about it." Alice phone began to ring. She looked at the caller ID. "Edward." She flipped the phone open. "Hello?"

"Alice, it's Edward. I was just wondering how long I needed to keep Bella out of the house."

"For a couple of hours. Are you at the doctor's office?"

"We just got here. We're waiting for them to call Bella. We'll be here for an hour at least. Renee just called and said she was on her way here. How's the decorating going?"

"We're almost done. Rosalie came over and she's blowing up the balloons."

"Alright. I have to go, I think they just called Bella back. We'll see you in a couple of hours." He hung up and went back to where Bella was standing to go back with the nurse.

"There you are. I was starting to wonder where you went." She took his hand and they headed back to the exam room. The nurse instructed Bella to lay down before she went out to get the doctor. She looked up at Edward and smiled. "I'm so excited." He kissed her hand.

"Me too. When is Renee coming?"

"She was running out the door when I talked to her. She should be here in about forty minutes or so."

"Do you have any idea what we're shopping for?"

"Mom was talking about shopping for maternity clothes." Bella was quiet for a bit. "Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you still love me when I'm fat?"

He chuckled softly then leaned down and kissed her. "Don't be silly Bella. I would love you even if you sprouted a third eye." The doctor came in. He shook Edward's hand.

"How are the two of you doing today?" he asked kindly.

"We're fine. Hoping that we're having a healthy baby," Bella answered.

"Let's look at that." The doctor did the ultrasound and pointed out various things. Finally he pronounced them healthy and Bella and Edward thanked him. They stopped by the front desk and made another appointment before heading out to the car.

"Where is Renee meeting us?"

"The mall." They got in and Edward pulled out and headed to the mall. He drove around until they spotted Renee's car. As soon as they parked Renee jumped out and ran to greet them. She hugged each of them in turn.

"How was your doctor visit?" she asked.

"It was fine. The baby's healthy. He gave me some more vitamins."

"That's great sweetie. When do you go back?"

"In a few weeks."

"Are you ready for shopping?"

Bella groaned. "I guess we should just get this over with." Renee hooked her arm through Bella's and walked her toward the entrance.

"Just humor me for a while."

In the first store it became apparent that Renee's style of shopping was very much like Alice's. She liked to grab armloads of clothing and hand it to Bella. Bella managed to talk her out of making her try it on. After Bella dumped the second armload of clothing in the cart Edward walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so proud of. You're taking this all so well," he said softly.

"I'm ready to go now. Do you think we could talk her into being ready to leave?" Edward checked his watch.

"I think we could probably go, but do you think you got enough clothing?"

"I think I have more than enough. I'm going to go find mom." Bella disappeared into the racks of clothing to find Renee. Edward fished his phone out and called Alice.

"Hey," he said when she picked up, "are you guys ready? Bella's ready to come home."

"We just finished. Go ahead and bring her before her head explodes."

"We'll see you in a few." He hung as Bella was coming back.

"Okay, I got her. Let's go before she finds something else. Bella got behind the cart and pushed it towards the registers with Renee and Edward trailing behind her.

"Did we give them enough time?" Renee whispered. Edward nodded. They paid and went back out to the cars. "I'll meet you back at the apartment."

"You're coming back with us?" Bella asked.

"I'm not done visiting with you yet. I'll follow you back there." Bella and Edward got in the car and with Renee following behind them headed back to the apartment. Edward parked and gathered the bags from the trunk; then the three of them made their way to the door. Bella opened the door and quickly jumped back into Edward as everyone inside shouted "surprise!"

"What is this?" she stammered.

"Welcome to your baby shower!" Alice shouted before throwing her arms around Bella.

"Baby shower?"

A/N: This is kind of a short chapter. Sorry about that. I hope you enjoy. I'm fighting myself really hard not to do a sudden time jump and make the baby be born. It'll have to happen eventually though. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon.


	15. Chapter 15

Disc: I don't own Twilight

Eternal

Chapter 15:

"Alice it's too soon. I'm only a month along." Bella stared at Alice wide, eyed.

Alice flashed her a wide smile. "I knew if I did it now when you weren't so far along you wouldn't expect it so I wouldn't have to fight you over it. Do you like it?" Bella looked around Alice at all of the people who were gathered to celebrate with them.

"It's pretty. Thank you Alice." She shot a murderous glance back at Edward. He shrugged. Alice turned and went back to the guests. "You knew about this didn't you?"

"Humor her Bella. She's trying really hard." Edward wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. "I'll make it up to you later." He gave Bella her favorite crooked smile.

She swooned a little. "Alright. I'll do it for you." She fixed a smile on her face and went in.

"Hey Bella," Emmett came up to her holding Rebecca. He gave her a one armed hug. "I wasn't supposed to be here, but I figured if Edward was allowed to come I could come too. Besides I couldn't get Rebecca to let go of me." Rebecca smiled and held her arms out to Bella. Bella took her and hugged her close.

"Thank you for bringing her. She's so cute. Thanks for coming." She kissed his cheek. "I should probably go say hi. Is it okay if I carry her around?"

"Sure. I think she really likes you." Bella smiled then moved away to greet other people. After awhile Alice came up to her.

"Bella. It's cake time."

"There's cake?"

Alice nodded. "Rosalie brought it. Go look at it. And let me see my niece." Bella handed Rebecca over to Alice then went to the counter to look at the cake. Rosalie came up beside her.

"Do you like it?" Rosalie asked quietly.

"It's pretty."

"I hope that it tastes as good."

"I'm sure it'll be great. It's cake right?"

"Where'd my baby go?"

"Alice has her. Should I cut this up?" Edward was suddenly behind her with a knife.

"I'll get it. Do you want a big piece?" He kissed her hair.

"A medium piece would be good." He cut a piece of cake and handed it to her. "Thank you sweetheart." Edward smiled and began plating more cake. Bella stood off eating her cake and pretending to listen to people. She kept glancing up at Edward who was talking to Jasper and Emmett. She appreciated what Alice had done for her, but right now she wanted nothing more than for everyone to leave so that she and Edward could be alone. Alice must have picked up on it because she began calling an end to the party. _Thank you_, Bella mouthed to Alice. Alice winked.

"Come on people. The party's over. Bella needs to rest now." Everyone began to file out. Renee stopped and pulled Bella into her arms.

"Bella I had such a great time. I'm so in love with your father."

"Wow mom, that's great. I'm really happy for you and dad."

"Thanks Bella. Have a good rest of your night."

"Thanks for coming mom." They hugged again and her mom left. She shut the door and leaned back against it, letting out a breath it felt like she had been holding all night. Suddenly Edward was there kissing her. She moaned softly as he pressed her back against the door.

"I told you I'd make up for it," he whispered in her ear. "Thanks for letting Alice have her fun. It made her happy." He kissed down her jaw and brushed his lips over her neck. She wrapped her arms around him tightly pulling him against her. Without breaking contact, he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. He fell back onto the bed pulling her down with him. "I love you Bella."

"I love you too. This more than makes up for the baby shower." She pulled him into a deep kiss. "Shouldn't we go clean up first?"

"It'll still be there in the morning. Now where were we?"

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The cruiser was there when Renee pulled up to the house. She glanced down at the clock. It was later than she thought. She parked and went in. She could hear a game on the T.V. in the living room. She hung her jacket over a chair and made her way back to the living room. "Hey Charlie, sorry I'm l-…" she peered into the room and found that Charlie wasn't in there. "Charlie?" She felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind. She gasped and spun around.

"Hey," Charlie took a step back and held up his hands. "I didn't mean to startle you." She stepped into him and wrapped her arms around him. He held her close and kissed the top of her head. "How was the party?"

"It was fun. I don't know if Bella really had a good time, but she was a good sport about it…mmm…" She tilted her head as Charlie kissed her neck. "How was work?"

"It was alright, but you know, I think I'm coming down with the flu or something." He winked at her.

"You actually called in for tomorrow?" He smiled and nodded.

"I think it's just a 24 hour thing, but you never know."

"Charlie, that's the most romantic thing you've ever done for me." She kissed him passionately. "I need to go take a shower then… I'll meet you in the bedroom?"

He blushed. "I'll meet you in there," he promised. She kissed him then headed off to take her shower. Charlie smiled as she walked away. If he had known that it would make her so happy he would have called in sick more often when they were married. This time he would do everything he could to make this work. He shut the T.V. off and headed up to the bedroom.

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"Bella, please," Alice stared up at her and made her eyes huge, the kind of eyes that were hard to say no to. Bella waivered for a moment, but found her resolve and shook her head. She tried to make her eyes fierce, but she was sure all she managed to pull off was confused. "Bella, for me?"

"Alice, I already had a baby shower and I didn't like all of those people looking at me then. I especially don't want people focusing on me now that I look like a balloon.

"Bella, you're 7 months pregnant, you're supposed to look like that. Everyone knows that, they'll forgive you. Now is when you're supposed to have a baby shower. You could even invite your dad this time." Bella looked down. She did feel bad about not inviting her dad the last time. "This is why I sprung the last one on you, by the way."

"Fine. Have a baby shower, but please keep it small. I don't need billions of people tromping through my apartment." She pulled her phone out and dialed Edward's number. After four rings he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, sweetheart. Are you busy?"

"A little bit. I get to go watch the teacher cut into a-"

"Okay, that's fine," Bella shuddered slightly when she thought of Edward's advanced anatomy class. "I just wanted to let you know that Alice is throwing me another baby shower. I didn't want you to walk into a bunch of people unprepared."

"When is it?"

"Tonight." He sighed.

"Alright, thanks for warning me. Don't let Alice push you into anything. Remember, you're bigger than her." Bella laughed.

"I love you Edward."

"I love you too. I'll see you tonight."

"Bye." She hung up and turned to Alice. "Edward said not to let you push me into anything." She gasped at the sudden pain that hit her. Alice looked up at her in concern.

"Bella? Are you okay?"

Bella nodded. "I'm okay. I think… It's going away now."

"Maybe we should-"

"Really, Alice, I'm alright. Let's just finish shopping. We have a bunch of people to call." Alice looked at her doubtfully before turning back to the cart.

"I think we're done. Let's go home and cook and you can start calling people." They checked out and left the store. Once they were home Alice unpacked the bags and started making soup. Bella sat down and started calling people. After going down Alice's guest list and getting a definitely from Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie, Bella dial her father's work.

"Forks police department, this is Mark."

"Mark, it's Bella. Is my dad there?"

"Bella, your dad's 'sick' today."

"Oh, thanks. I'll try him at home." She hung up and called the house.

"Hello?" her dad answered.

"Hey dad."

"Bells, it's good to hear from you. What's up?" Bella smiled. Her dad sounded younger and happier than he ever had in the time Bella had known him. Renee had been good for him.

"Alice is throwing me another baby shower. Will you and mom come?"

"Sure, sweetie, we'd love to be there. When is it?"

"I've been telling people six."

"Alright, we'll see you around then."

"Bye dad." Bella hung up and went into the kitchen to help Alice. "I've been on the phone for longer than I cared to be today."

"Who's coming?"

"Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and my mom and my dad for sure. Angela and Ben might come. What can I do to help?" Alice began rattling off tasks and Bella followed. The two busied themselves with cooking and cleaning. Before they knew it the door opened and Edward came in. Bella rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him. He kissed her softly. "How was class?"

"Rough. I have a huge test coming up in a week. I think it's half of our grade."

"You'll do great. You always do."

He nodded. "I just need to study. Do I have time to take a shower?"

"You should. You have half an hour before people show up."

"I'll hurry."

"Do you want help?"

"Tempting, but I only have half an hour. I'll be out in ten minutes." He kissed her again before heading off to take a shower.

"Poor Edward. I wish I could do something to make his life easier." Bella came back to help Alice finish the cooking.

"I think you do make his life easier just being there. You may not realize it, but you've calmed him down a lot." There was a knock on the door. Bella looked at the clock. It was only 5:40. She opened the door.

"Bella!" Rebecca shouted at her from Emmett's arms.

"Rebecca! When did she start doing that?"

Emmett laughed. "Last week. She said dad first then mom then we taught her Bella. We wanted to surprise you."

"I'm surprised. Come here sweetie." Bella held out her arms and took Rebecca. Emmett and Rosalie came the rest of the way in. Rosalie was carrying a giant sheet cake. "Rosalie thank you for the cake."

"No problem." She set in on the counter.

Emmett looked around. "Is Edward around?"

"He's in the shower." Emmett got a devilish gleam in his eye.

"Do you have a camera?"

"Nope, not a one."

"Emmett stop it," Rosalie smacked his arm. "Don't pester Edward or I'm not going to come to your rescue the next time he tackles you."

"It's fun to pester him though." There was a loud bang on the door, like someone was kicking it. Bella opened the door for Jasper who was standing there holding three gift bags and a big package. Emmett ran over to help him.

"Thanks, Em." He set the bags on the floor and hugged Bella. "Hey Bella, how are you feeling?"

"Alright. I'm a little tired."

"I imagine Alice has been running you a little ragged today."

"Hey!" Alice shouted from the kitchen. Edward came in from the bedroom. "Who are we waiting on?" Alice asked. She swatted Emmett's hand away from the rolls she had just set out.

Bella shrugged. "Just my mom and dad. I don't think anyone else Is really going to come." Another knock on the door brought Renee and Charlie to the party. "I think that's everyone." Bella hugged her mom and then her dad. Charlie stepped back and looked her over. He looked shocked. "Dad, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just can't believe that you're so close to having a baby." Tears sprang to his eyes, but he blinked them away quickly.

"Dad." She hugged him tightly.

Alice set bowls out on the counter. "Soup's ready." Everyone crowded around the food. Bella and Edward went and sat on the couch to wait for the crowd to thin out. She wrapped her arms around Edward and laid her head on his chest. He stroked her back and kissed the top of her head.

"Bella, I love you." She smiled.

"I love you too."

"Bella," Alice called from the kitchen, "where are all of your glasses?"

"I think they're in the dishwasher. I'll get them." She untangled herself from Edward and fought her way off of the couch. As soon as she stood she knew something was wrong. The same pain from earlier hit her again only this time it was stronger. She sank down onto the floor and Edward was right there next to her.

"Bella, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Edward… I think I need to go to the hospital." Her eyes were filled with tears.

"Okay." He picked her up. The pain subsided a bit.

"Wait it's going away."

Alice stepped out from behind the counter. "Bella that's twice today."

"Twice?" Edward turned his concerned eyes to Bella. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry."

"I'm still taking you to the hospital."

"Is there anything I can do?" Charlie asked helplessly.

"If you could follow us to the hospital. There's not a whole lot we can do until we know what's going on." Edward started toward the door with Bella. The pain washed over her again.

"Edward."

"Bella, it's okay." He rushed her out to the car with everyone else following. The trip to the hospital was short with Edward driving eighty miles an hour as much as the traffic would allow. He picked her up out of the car and carried her inside. The sharp pain kept coming and going every few minutes. The woman at the counter took in Edward's wild expression and led them into an exam room.

"Edward, what if there's something really wrong," Bella cried. "We've come too far for something to go wrong now."

He took her hand and shook his head. A doctor came in and, after getting a brief rundown of what had been happening, examined her. He stepped back and called a nurse in. He gave her instructions then turned to Bella and Edward. "I'm having the nurse move you up to delivery. What you've been feeling are contractions. You're progressing quite rapidly." Edward and Bella stared back at him with horrified expressions.

Bella shook her head. "What?" she asked in a small voice.

A/N: Two lines of X's means a huge time jump. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll try to have the next one up soon.


	16. Chapter 16

Disc: I don't own Twilight but I love it.

Eternal

Chapter 16

Edward jumped to his feet and advanced on the doctor. "There's a mistake. She can't be having a baby, she's only 7 months."

The doctor put a hand on Edward's shoulder. "Is this your first baby?" Edward nodded. "This can happen with first children; especially for younger parents. Our NICU is one of the best in the country."

Edward held up his hands. "I know you have to say that because you work here, but is my baby going to be okay?"

"We'll do what we can. The baby should be fine. We need to get her moved." He left the room and the nurse came back in with a wheelchair.

"Miss? We're ready to move you now." Edward helped Bella up and into the chair. She looked up at him wide-eyed.

"It'll be okay Bella. I'm right here for you." He kissed her. The nurse wheeled her out of the room. Edward followed and got out his phone and called the hospital in Forks. After being transferred three times Carlisle picked up.

"Hello?"

"Dad, it's Edward. Can you and Mom get to Seattle? Bella's in labor. The doctor said she was progressing rapidly."

"She's not due for another couple of months right?"

"She's not supposed to be. Dad, is she going to be okay?"

"A lot of advances have been made in medicine. At 7 months the baby has a good chance of survival. They may have to keep the baby there for a while to monitor it, but I would say the baby should be fine. I'm going to head home and get your mother then we'll be there. Call my phone if anything happens."

"I will. Thanks dad." Edward hung up.

"Edward, I've been thinking," Bella said softly.

"What is it sweetheart?" He came to her side and took her hand.

"I think that I may have run out of pills the week before we stopped having sex. And that month I didn't have a period, but I didn't think about it because the pills have been making me so irregular that it wasn't a big deal."

"So you're more likely eight months pregnant."

"Eight months and a week or so." He breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's good right?"

Edward nodded. "It's better than 7 months." He kissed her forehead. "You'll be okay." Bella winced and took a deep breath. "Are you having another contraction?" Bella nodded.

"I can't wait to be done with this part." There was a soft knock on the door and Renee peeked her head in. Bella could see Charlie standing right behind her.

"Can we come in?" Renee asked softly.

"Sure come on in," Bella answered. Renee and Charlie came in and Renee rushed to Bella's side.

"Sweetie, how are you? What's going on?"

"I'm having a baby mom." Charlie stepped forward.

"Already? I didn't think that you were going to have a baby so soon," he said looking down at the floor.

"Neither did I. I had the conception date wrong. I'm eight months instead of seven." She took in the concerned look on Charlie's face. "I'll be alright dad. Are the others here?"

"They're out in the waiting room. The nurse wouldn't let us all in here at once." Another strong contraction hit Bella and she grabbed Edward's hand.

"Sweetheart, breathe. I'm going to go get the doctor to come in and check you again." Edward left the room and came back a few minutes later with the doctor. The doctor examined Bella.

"Looks like you're at about 7 centimeters."

Bella looked hopeful. "So, just three more to go? That shouldn't take too long."

"It could take three minutes or it could take three hours. We could get you something for the pain if you'd like."

"That's okay. I'll tough it out." Bella let her head fall back against the pillow looking dejected.

"Let us know if you change your mind. I'll be back in in a bit to check you again." The doctor left the room and Renee moved back to Bella's side and took her hand.

"When you were born sweetie, I wasn't in labor for very long. You'll be alright."

"Thanks mom." The light glinted off of something on Renee's hand. Bella looked down and gasped. "Mom is that a-?" Renee followed Bella's eyes down.

"Oh, um…we weren't going to say anything until after your baby shower. Charlie asked me to marry him."

"Mom! That's great!" Bella sat up and hugged her mom tightly. "Congratulations."

"Thanks honey. We didn't want to steal your thunder."

"You did a great job picking the ring out dad."

"Thanks," he said from a chair in the corner. "That was the ring I proposed with the first time." There was a soft knock on the door.

"Can we come in?" Alice asked softly.

Renee patted Bella's hand and stood up. "We're going to go out and let some other people have a turn."

"Okay mom."

She and Charlie left the room and Alice and Jasper took their place. "How are you doing Bella?" Alice asked softly.

"I'm okay. I'm seven centimeters and it could be three more hours." Bella gave them a thumbs up.

"It surely wouldn't take that long," Jasper responded. Bella squeezed Edward's hand hard.

"Sweetheart," he said softly. She slowly loosened the grip on his hand.

"Sorry, that one was really bad." Edward kissed her forehead.

"Do you want me to call them in to give you some pain medication?"

"No, I'll be okay." Edward looked at her with concerned eyes, but let the subject drop. "Where are Rosalie and Emmett?"

"Emmett's out in the waiting room. Rosalie took Rebecca home. We're supposed to call her the minute something happens," Alice said as she sat on the edge of Bella's bed. "Do you know what you're going to name it?"

"Not yet. We've been kicking names around, but we thought we had a couple more months to think about it." Bella shut her eyes tightly as a strong contraction hit her.

"Those are really close," Jasper said. Edward nodded.

"I'm going to go get the doctor to come back in here." Edward went out into the hall and looked around for the doctor.

"Edward." He turned around just as Esme wrapped her arms around him.

"Hey mom." He hugged her tightly.

"How's Bella?"

"She's doing alright. I was just about to find the doctor to come check her again. Her contractions are getting closer together. Where's dad?"

"I'm here." Carlisle came up behind Esme. "Is Bella doing alright?"

"I think she is. I think she's getting really close to having this baby." The doctor walked past. "Doctor, can you come check her again? The contractions are getting closer together." The doctor followed Edward back into the room.

"How are we doing?" He said gently to Bella.

"Okay, I think. Please tell me I'm ready to have this baby."

"Well, let's see." He examined her. He stood back up and pressed the call button for a nurse. When she came in he instructed her get ready for delivery.

Edward stared at the doctor. "Are you serious?"

The doctor nodded. "It's time. If we could get everybody out except for dad." Esme turned around and ushered everyone out as the nurses came back in.

Bella looked up at Edward and grabbed his hand. "Edward…"

He kissed her softly. "It'll be okay." He sat next to her.

"Okay Bella," the doctor said, "It's time to get ready to push." Bella took a deep breath.

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Charlie stood as everyone came out into the hall. "Is everything okay?" Carlisle nodded.

"The doctor said that Bella's ready to have the baby," he answered as he took a seat on the other side of Charlie. Alice let out a squeal of excitement.

"I'm going to be an aunt again!" Emmett was already up and on the phone to Rosalie. Everyone else sat down to wait. Renee wrapped her arms around Charlie.

"Baby, I've been thinking about something."

"Hmm?"

"Well, I still have a few child-bearing years left…and I kind of miss having a baby around…" Charlie looked down at her like she was speaking another language.

"Renee…"

"It's just something to think about."

"Can we get married and adjust to be grandparents first?"

"Yes, Charlie, it was just a thought." She kissed him softly.

"Jasper, I want to have a baby," Alice looked up at Jasper with huge pleading eyes. Jasper coughed a little.

"Well, we can talk about that some…later," he choked out. Alice smiled.

"You should see your face. You look terrified," she giggled.

"I'm not, I'm fine." He looked down at his hands. Alice kissed his cheek.

"I love you."

"I love you too." He hoped that Alice's wish for a baby was something that was simply brought on by the situation. If she chose to press the issue he knew that he would give in, but he hoped she would let it go for now. He did love her, but he wasn't anywhere near ready to start caring for a baby. He kissed the top of Alice's head.

There was nothing to do now, but wait for someone to come out and get them.

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"One more time Bella," the doctor said, "your almost there." Bella groaned. She definitely couldn't wait for this to be over.

"You're doing great, sweetheart." Edward smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead. She gathered the last of her strength and pushed. Edward watched anxiously as the doctor took the baby. Suddenly the baby's cry pierced the silence. Edward closed his eyes and squeezed Bella's hand.

"Congratulations. It's a boy," the doctor said. Edward smiled down at Bella.

"You were great." They wiped the baby off and weighed him.

"5 pounds 9 ounces," the nurse said as she handed the baby to Bella. Bella looked down at the baby.

"Wow," she breathed. "He's really small. Is that okay?"

The doctor nodded. "He's a bit premature, and we'll need to work on getting his weight up, but for the most part, he looks healthy. He's going to need to be nursed soon, but for now we'll just let you spend some time with him. When you're ready we'll get the birth certificate ready for you to sign."

Edward tore his eyes away from the baby and looked up at the doctor. "Thank you so much. I'm sorry if I got a little worked up."

The doctor chuckled. "You actually did better than most first time fathers. Call us if you need anything. A nurse will be by in a little bit to check on you and get you moved to a more comfortable room." The doctor and the nurses left.

"Edward look at him, he's beautiful. He looks like you."

Edward shook his head. "I can't believe we have a baby. What are we going to name him?"

Bella thought for a moment. "I always thought Gabriel was a good name."

"That's a good name. I'm okay with that."

"Or we could name him Edward." Edward winced a little.

"I don't want to do that to him."

"It's a pretty name. I like it."

"You're biased. I got made fun of a lot when I was a kid. Let's just stick with Gabriel." He reached down and stroked the baby's cheek. "He's so amazing." Bella gasped as the baby looked up at her with vivid green eyes. She hugged him close to her.

"He has your eyes. Would you like to hold him?" Edward nodded and carefully lifted the baby out of Bella's arms. He took a deep breath.

"We should probably go get people pretty soon. They'll be wondering what happened," he said softly. Bella nodded. There was a soft knock on the door.

"Sweetie?" Renee peeked into the room and gasped. "Can we see him?" Bella nodded. Renee and Charlie stepped in the room closely followed by Edward's parents and Alice. Renee went and stood over Edward's should. "He's so precious, and so tiny."

Carlisle looked down at the baby. "He looks healthy. How far along did you say Bella was?"

"We were wrong about the conception date. She was a month farther along than we thought."

"Can I hold him?" Renee asked timidly. Edward nodded and let her pick him up.

Charlie shoved his hands down into his pockets. "Wow Bells, I can't…wow." He leaned down and hugged her softly.

"Thanks for coming dad." Alice flew at Bella and hugged her tightly.

"Bella, I'm so excited for you!" she squealed. Bella winced.

"Alice be careful with her. She just had a baby," Edward scolded. Bella smiled.

"Thank you for coming too Alice. Where are Jasper and Emmett?"

"They went back to your apartment to set some stuff up." Bella's eyes filled with tears that she wiped away quickly. She couldn't believe how lucky she had gotten having such a supportive, loving family. Stupid hormones. They spent a long time talking to Bella and passing Gabriel around. After an hour a nurse came back in and ran everyone off so that Bella could rest.

"We'll talk to you tomorrow Bella," Alice said as she gave her a quick hug and left with her parents.

"Do you want us to stay in Seattle tonight?" Charlie asked Bella softly.

"Oh, dad, you can stay if you want to, but we'll probably be out of here tomorrow."

"We'll find a hotel room and give you a call tomorrow," Renee answered as she took Charlie's hand and pulled him out of the room. Once they were alone the nurse showed Bella how to position Gabriel so that he could nurse and he caught on quickly. Bella smiled down at him. Edward kissed her softly.

"We can do this right?" he whispered.

"I think we can. You can do anything." He puts his arms around her and she leaned against him. Finally Gabriel had finished and the nurse took him and put him in the basinet in the corner of the room. Bella looked over at the clock and was surprised to see that it was near midnight. Her stomach growled.

"Do you want me to see if I can find you some food?"

"If you want to. You don't have to." Edward kissed her.

"I'll be right back."

"Hurry back. I miss you already." He smiled and disappeared out the door. Bella sighed and looked over to where her baby was sleeping. "I love you Gabriel." Her eyes started to drift shut and it hit her how exhausted she was. Before she knew it she had fallen asleep.

She woke when she heard the door open. She looked over groggily and it took a moment for her to process what she was seeing. "Bella?" a familiar voice whispered softly. Bella sat up suddenly and squinted into the dark.

"Jake?"

A/N: I didn't mean for this to take this long. I kept falling asleep while I was trying to write it. I decided to stick Jacob in it. I'm definitely team Edward, but after Breaking Dawn I came to like Jacob. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I hope to have the next one up soon. Thanks for all the reviews.


	17. Chapter 17

Disc: I don't own Twilight.

Eternal

Chapter 17

"Jake?" Bella blinked again. Jacob came in and shut the door.

"Thank goodness I found you. I was afraid if I didn't find you soon they would find me and kick me out."

"Jacob, how did you get in here? Visiting hours are over."

"I snuck past them." He sat down on the edge of her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing alright. How did you know I was in here?"

"Charlie called Billy." He pointed to the crib. "Is the baby in there?" Bella nodded.

"I think he's still sleeping." Jacob stood and quietly made his way over to the crib.

"He's cute." The door opened again and Edward came in bearing McDonalds.

"Sorry it took so long. The cafeteria was closed so I had to go…out." He stared at Jacob for a long time. "Hi. Who are you?"

"Edward, this is my friend from Forks, Jacob Black. Jacob, this is my husband Edward." Jacob stepped towards Edward and extended his hand. Edward set the food down on the bed and shook Jacob's hand.

"Sorry, if I had known you would be here I would have gotten more food," Edward said.

"It's alright, I ate before I came. I'll just steal Bella's fries."

Bella laughed quietly. "I'd love to see you try." Edward sat at the foot of the bed and opened up his food. He handed Bella's food to her. "Thanks sweetheart." She picked at her fries. "So dad called you about the baby…did he tell Billy I was getting married?" Jacob looked down.

"He did tell Billy about the wedding, and I would have come, but Billy got sick. I had to stay and take care of him. I'm sorry."

"Is Billy okay?" Jacob shrugged.

"He's getting old. The doctor said it looked like he had the beginnings of Alzheimer's."

"He's the same age as my dad right?"

"I don't think so. You're like a year or two older than me and your Charlie's first. My dad had already had two kids before I came along. I think he's a little bit older than Charlie. Anyway…I've been having a hard time getting away. Not that I mind taking care of him, but…" Jacob shrugged. "Do you remember Sam?" Bella shook her head. "He's one of the older kids, he's not really a kid, he's at my house right now. He's been helping out a lot, but he can't really keep doing too much. He has a wife and a baby on the way." Jacob looked over towards the sleeping baby. "Wow Bella, I can't believe you're a mother." Bella's eyes followed Jacob's.

"That seems to be a common feeling. I can't even believe that I'm a mother either." Jacob's hand flashed out and he grabbed one of Bella's fries while she was distracted. Her head snapped back to Jacob. "Hey." She heard Edward chuckle. She turned to glare at him and he held a fry out to her. Gabriel stirred.

"Should I get him?" Edward asked.

Bella shrugged. "Is he awake?" Edward slid off the bed and made his way quietly over to the bassinet. Gabriel stared back up at him. Edward carefully scooped him up out of bed.

"Hey kiddo." Gabriel whimpered a little bit. "Shh…" Edward rocked him. The door opened and the nurse came in.

"Everything okay?" She spotted Jacob. "What are you doing in here? You shouldn't be in here."

"He's okay," Bella assured her. "He lives out of town and he just got here."

The nurse shook her head stubbornly. "He can't stay here. We have rules." Jacob stood up.

"I should get going anyway Bella. Billy needs me." He hugged Bella. "It was good seeing you. Keep in touch okay?"

"I will. Thanks for coming Jake. Tell Billy I said hi."

"I will." He smiled at her before turning to Edward. "Edward, it was good meeting you."

"You too. Thank you for coming." Jacob smiled then turned and left. The nurse shook her head again and checked Bella and the baby.

"He shouldn't need to be fed yet. Call me if you need anything." Bella and Edward thanked her and she left. He sat down on the bed holding Gabriel.

"Can you believe this?" he said softly.

"No. I don't think that it's really sunk in yet. It's weird enough here at the hospital, but it's going to be even weirder when we take him home." Bella sighed. She couldn't wait to get out of the hospital and get the baby back to their apartment. She wondered what Jasper and Emmett had been setting up.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm just wondering if we'll have a place for him when we get him home."

"I think Jasper and Emmett took care of it. We'll figure it out." Edward carefully laid down next to her, shifting Gabriel so that he was laying on his chest. He and Bella talked for a while about what it would be like to have a baby at home. Soon Edward became quiet. Bella looked over at him and saw that his eyes were closed. She smile and wrapped her arms around him. Before she knew it she had fallen back asleep.

She woke up to Gabriel crying. Edward was rocking him, but it didn't seem to be helping. "I think he's hungry," Edward said somewhat helplessly.

"Let's see if I can do this." Bella took Gabriel and positioned him. After a moment of shifting he began to nurse. Bella smiled at Edward then looked past him to the clock. "It's only three?" She groaned. "This is going to be a long night."

Edward laughed. "I'll help you through it. It'll be nice to get back to our bed."

"Yeah. I don't know how much time we'll get to spend in our bed."

Edward shrugged. "When we get back to it." He wrapped his arms around Bella as she finished feeding Gabriel.

"Do you think he'll go back to sleep?" Bella said quietly.

"We can try. Do you want me to take him?"

"I'll get him." Bella carefully stood with Gabriel and took him back over to his bed. She kissed him softly then laid him down. He fussed for a moment then quieted and eventually fell asleep. Bella went back and laid down next to Edward. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled against him. "I love you Edward."

"I love you too. Get some sleep while you can." He kissed her then began to hum softly until Bella could no longer keep her eyes open.

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"Bella sweetie?" her mother's voice sang somewhere nearby. She groaned softly but didn't open her eyes. "Is she awake?" Renee directed to Edward.

He chuckled. "She is, she's just being lazy." He carefully laid Gabriel on her chest. She cracked an eye open and smiled.

"Hey baby," she said softly wrapping her arms around Gabriel. She tried to find a clock. "Edward, what time is it?"

"About 9:30. They're going to let you go. I'm supposed to go sign some papers then we can get out of here."

Charlie came to Bella side and kissed her forehead. "How are you feeling Bells?"

"I'm feeling great. Tired, but great. You guys actually stayed."

"We wanted to be here when they released you."

"You haven't gotten to hold the baby yet, dad." Charlie carefully picked Gabriel up.

"He's so beautiful Bells."

"I love him." She looked around and saw that Edward had left. "Edward?"

"He went to go sign you out," Renee answered. She stood by Charlie's shoulder and looked down lovingly at the baby. "Are you happy to be going home?"

"Of course. I hate being in the hospital. Even if it was to have a baby." Edward came back in with a nurse and a paper.

"You have to sign this sweetheart." He sat down on the bed and handed Bella the birth certificate. Bella smiled and signed her name to it.

"Can we go now?" she asked Edward softly.

The nurse came around to check on her. "You can go as soon as you're ready. Just call us when you're ready to leave." The nurse left the room. Bella jumped up and grabbed her clothes on the way to the bathroom. Ten minutes later she emerged dressed.

"I'm ready." She was eager to get back to her apartment with her husband and her baby. Edward laughed softly.

"I'll get the nurse." Edward pressed the button and within minutes the nurse came back with a wheelchair. Bella sat down and Charlie handed Gabriel to her. She cradled him as Renee pushed her to the exit. Edward went ahead of them and pulled the car around. He got out and came around to help Bella into the car. She noticed that he had already fitted his car with a car seat for Gabriel. Edward took Gabriel and fastened him into the seat.

"Is he going to be okay back there?" Bella sat in the passenger seat and looked back at Gabriel.

"He'll be fine. That's what those seats are made for." Edward got in on his side. Renee leaned into Bella's window.

"We'll meet you back at your apartment sweetie."

"Okay, mom. We'll see you there."

Renee waved then took Charlie's hand and they headed off to his car. Edward took off back to their apartment. When they got there Bella could hardly wait for Edward to come around and open the door for her. "You're really keyed up," he commented.

"I missed being home." She leaned in and unfastened Gabriel and picked him up.

Edward nodded. "I know what you mean." He put his hand on her back and followed her into the apartment. Bella smiled and sighed as soon as they were inside.

"It's so good to be home." She looked down at Gabriel. "This is your new home sweetie." She kissed his forehead.

"You should go see what they did to the spare room. It's not done yet, but they didn't have a lot of time." Eagerly Bella made her way back to the spare room. She felt tears pooling in her eyes. Jasper and Emmett had set up a crib, changing table, and had put a rocking chair in the corner of the room. Bella looked around the room and it fully hit her that she and Edward had a baby. She looked down at Gabriel and something close to fear began to set in. She leaned back against Edward for support. "Bella, are you okay?"

"We have a baby Edward. We're parents. He's ours and we can't just play with him and give him back to his parents because we're his parents."

"Bella, calm down. I know it'll be a tough job, but we can handle it."

She looked up into Edward's eyes and tried to will her brain to believe what Edward was saying. She looked back down at Gabriel. All of the confidence that she had had at the hospital was slowly beginning to drain as she realized that she and Edward were, for all intents and purposes, alone now. "Bella?" Edward's eyes were filled with concern as he looked into hers.

"Edward…"

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter finished. It's a little bit shorter and not a lot happened but it was kind of a transitional chapter. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. I'm not sure how many more chapters there are going to be. Enjoy.


	18. Chapter 18

Disc: I don't own Twilight, but I love it.

Eternal

Chapter 18:

Bella made her way over to the rocking chair and sat down. Edward stooped down next to her. "Bella, what's wrong? I thought you were happy about this."

"I am happy about it." She looked down at the baby. "It just hit me that we have a baby and it's not like it was when we were in the hospital with all the nurses and doctors and people to help us. Edward, we're alone."

Edward laughed softly. "Bella, we're going to be fine. We don't need the doctors and nurses and people to help us. We have each other." He kissed her temple softly. "Plus, I'm sure Alice will be more than happy to help us." Bella smiled and nodded. Edward sat down on the floor. "So…Jacob," he said nonchalantly, "is he an old boyfriend?" Bella raised an eyebrow and, before she could stop herself, started laughing. She shook her head.

"Jacob's just a friend. We grew up together. We used to spend a lot of time playing while our dads were fishing or watching sports."

"You didn't fish with them?"

Bella looked at Edward. "No, falling into the water tends to scare the fish away."

Edward chuckled and looked down at his hands thoughtfully. "Jacob seemed to be…awfully fond of you." Bella searched Edward's face. Then she broke into a wide grin.

"Edward Cullen, are you jealous?"

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous?" He shifted.

"You have nothing to be worried about. Like I said, Jake and I are just friends. He used to have a crush on me, but I made it clear to him that I wasn't interested." Bella looked away. "I hope that Billy's okay. It'll hurt both Jacob and my dad if he…"

"I could talk to Carlisle and see if he can do anything."

"That would be nice, but I don't know what Carlisle could do."

"It's worth a try." Gabriel started fussing. "I bet he's hungry." She moved him so that he could nurse. There was a knock on the door.

Edward got up. "That's probably everybody else. I'll let them in." He kissed her then left the room. Out in the living room she could everyone talking excitedly. She looked back down at Gabriel and smiled.

"Listen to all of those people out there to see you." There was a soft knock on the bedroom door. Bella looked up and saw Rosalie standing there. "Hey Rosalie."

"Hey, can I come in?"

"Sure." Rosalie came in. She came to stand behind Bella.

"Bella, he's beautiful."

"Thank you."

"Sorry I couldn't come. Becca was getting restless. I had to take her home."

"That's okay. Rosalie, did it freak you out when you took Becca home from the hospital."

"Yeah, a little. I think that's when it really sinks in that this baby thing is permanent. I was really happy that I had Emmett around. It helped knowing that it wasn't just me." She watched Gabriel for a moment. "It looks like he's nursing alright." Bella nodded.

"I think he's doing okay." Bella finished nursing him. "Would you like to hold him?" Rosalie nodded eagerly. Bella smiled and handed him to Rosalie.

"Oh wow. He's so tiny. He looks a lot like Edward."

"I was hoping that he would."

"I've been trying to talk Emmett into having another baby lately, but he doesn't want anything to do with that until Rebecca gets older. I guess I understand that."

"I'm having enough trouble to adjusting to having the one baby. I have no idea what I'd do with another." Edward stuck his head into the room.

"Sweetheart, everyone is anxious to see you and Gabe."

"Alright. We're coming." Bella went out after Edward and Rosalie followed with Gabe.

"There he is!" Alice shouted. She ran up to Rosalie and peeked at Gabriel. She gasped. "He's so cute. I love him. I can't wait to dress him up in all those tiny clothes. Can I hold him?" Bella nodded. She carefully took him from Rosalie and cradled him close to her. Bella saw her dad standing there. He looked awkward, as if he was unsure about what he should be doing. She made her way over to him.

"How are you doing Grandpa?" He smiled and shook his head.

"It's so strange to think about being a grandfather. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright. I was a little bit worried when we first got home, but I'm feeling a little more confident now."

"That's good…you know…I'll help you as much as I can."

"I know dad, thank you." She hugged him. "Jacob came to see me last night."

"Oh did he? I wasn't sure if he got my message."

"He did. He told me about Billy." Charlie looked down at the floor.

"Yeah…he's not doing so well."

"He'll be okay dad. Billy's a tough guy." Charlie nodded. "Thank you for staying, dad."

"It was no problem." Renee joined them.

"Bella I absolutely love him." Bella smiled.

"I love him too."

"Bella when you have a second I'd like to talk to you about our wedding," Renee said softly.

"Okay. When is it?"

"Soon. We don't want to have a long engagement. And it's just going to be a small wedding. I'd like you to be my maid of honor though."

"Mom, I'd love to. You'll have to let me know when it is. Dad do you have a best man yet?"

Charlie looked down. "I asked Billy…" Bella laid a hand on his arm.

"Billy will be there. Edward said that he would talk to Carlisle and see if he can do anything for him." Charlie's eyes shifted over to where Edward was talking to Carlisle. He was holding Gabriel and rocking him gently.

"That was nice of him. He seems to be taking to being a father."

"Edward's amazing, dad. I'm really glad he's here because I really don't know what I'm doing." Charlie smiled at Bella.

"You know I wasn't sure about him when you first started seeing him, but he's really grown on me," he said softly. "I'm just glad that you found somebody so reliable and kind. He is a really good kid."

"Thanks dad, I'm glad you approve of him." Carlisle and Edward made their way over.

"Edward tells me that Billy Black is sick," Carlisle said. Charlie nodded.

"He has been."

"I could go out there and take a look. Do you think he would agree to let me see him?"

"I think Jacob or I could talk him into it. Do you think you could help him?"

"I can't say that for sure, but I might be able to."

"I would appreciate that."

Edward handed Gabriel to Bella. "I thought you might be missing him."

She hugged Gabriel to her. "I was missing him." She nuzzled his nose. Edward kissed her softly.

"I'm going to make lunch for everyone. Should I make soup or sandwiches?"

"Soup would be great." Edward went into the kitchen to start dinner. Bella carried Gabriel over to the couch and sat down with him. Alice came and sat down next to her. Together they played with him until Edward announced that the soup was ready.

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Edward sank down onto the couch. After several hours everyone had left and they had put Gabriel to bed. Bella sat down next to him. "What a day."

Edward nodded. "It was good to have everyone here, but it's nice to have the house to ourselves again." Bella leaned against him.

"How long do you think he'll sleep?"

"A couple of hours. We should probably try to get some sleep while we can."

Bella suddenly remembered something. "Have you been able to study for your test at all."

"A little bit in the hospital. If I'm not ready for it now, I don't think I ever will be. I still have a week anyway."

"Okay…I'm sorry."

"For what? Bella I knew we were going to have a baby. It just happened sooner than I thought. Come on. Let's go get some sleep." He stood and took her hand to help her up. They went into their bedroom and fell into bed.

"It was nice of everyone to come," Bella yawned. Edward snuggled against her.

"It was."

Gabriel's cries ripped through the quiet of the apartment. Bella's eyes flew open. It felt like she had only been asleep for a second. She looked at the clock. It was 11 o'clock. She had been asleep for two hours. Groaning she pulled herself out of bed. This was going to be a very long night.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews and comments. I'll probably be wrapping this story up pretty soon. Depending on if I can think of stuff to happen I may have one or two more chapters. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter. I'll try to have the next one up as soon as I can.


	19. Chapter 19

Disc: I don't own Twilight.

Eternal

Chapter 19:

"Edward, can you grab Gabriel's diaper bag," Bella called from the living room. Edward emerged from Gabriel's room carrying the diaper bag. "Your parents know that we're coming right?"

"Yes. I called them last night and told them. Do you have your dress?"

"Mom picked it up with her dress. Oh, I was supposed to call mom and remind her to pick the dresses up."

"I'm sure she got them. Are you excited about your parents' wedding?" Bella nodded.

"I can't believe they're getting married. I know my dad doesn't really show it, but he's absolutely thrilled that mom agreed to marry him again." Bella shifted Gabriel into a more comfortable position. It had been two months since he had been born and it had taken Bella that long to really get used to everything. She had been thankful when he had started sleeping through the night.

"We should probably get going. I think mom is working on lunch," Edward said. Bella nodded and took one more look around to make sure they had everything. She and Edward would be spending the night with Edward's parents then they would go the next day to Charile and Renee's wedding. They left the apartment and headed down to Edward's car. Edward took Gabriel and strapped him into his car seat. Bella slid into the passenger's seat.

"Are the other's coming?" she asked. Edward nodded.

"I spoke to Alice this morning and she and Jasper were getting ready to leave. I think that Emmett and Rosalie are already there. You have to go to the rehearsal right?"

"Yeah." Bella leaned back against the seat. "My poor dad. I talked to him this morning and he's freaking out. He's really happy to be getting married, but he has jitters."

"I know that feeling," Edward said. "On our wedding day I flipped out a little. Ask Jasper and Emmett. They kept threatening to tie me down." He reached over and took Bella's hand. "But I'm so happy I married you." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. Halfway through the trip they had to pull over to change and feed Gabriel. Soon after they were pulling into the Cullen's driveway. Emmett ran out and tackled Edward; then the two of them were rolling around the yard trying to pin each other. Rosalie came out and rolled her eyes.

"Emmett you could at least let them get settled before you attack them." She helped Bella get Gabriel out of the car. "How was your trip?"

"It was nice. We had to stop to change Gabe, but we made it."

"Esme just finished making lunch. Alice and Jasper just got here too." Bella grabbed the diaper bag and with one more glance at the boys who were still wrestling, she and Rosalie headed into the house.

"Bella!" Esme rushed to her and hugged her before turning to Rosalie and holding her arms out for Gabe. Rosalie handed the baby to his grandmother. "Where's Edward."

"Out rolling around on the ground with Emmett," Rosalie rolled her eyes again. The door opened and Edward and Emmett stumbled through it laughing. "Like a couple of animals."

"Hello, Rose," Edward replied.

"Hello, Edward."

Esme pulled Edward into a hug then turned to Bella. "Bella, when do you have to be at the rehearsal?"

"In a couple of hours."

"We should go eat lunch." They all went into the dining room and sat down. Esme called up the stairs for Alice and Jasper and they joined the group.

Alice looked up at Bella. "I can't believe your parents are getting married tomorrow! I love weddings. I haven't even seen your dress."

"It's pretty, but compared to my mom's dress… The first time they got married it was kind of a rushed thing and she decided she wanted a fancy dress this time. I can't believe they're getting married again either. I'm really happy for them." Bella's phone rang and she excused herself from the table to answer.

"Bella, honey, it's mom. Did you get in okay?"

"We just came in a few minutes ago. I forgot to call you. Did you get your dress?"

"Yes, your father reminded me this morning. I got your dress too. Bella, it's so beautiful. You're going to look stunning."

"Not as stunning as you mom. Who's coming to the rehearsal?"

"Me, Charlie, you, Billy, Jacob, and the officiate. Is Edward coming?"

"He's going to stay here and watch Gabriel. Is there going to be a dinner?"

"A small one I think; then I'm going to go home with you."

"You are?"

"Alice doesn't want Charlie to see me before the wedding and since she and Rosalie are doing my hair and make-up, she decided it would be easier if I was there."

"Okay. I should get back to lunch. They're probably wondering where I am right now. I'll see you guys in a couple of hours."

"Alright. See you sweetie." Her mom hung up and she went back into the dining room.

Edward looked over at her. "Is everything okay?"

Bella nodded. "Mom just wanted to make sure we got in okay. This is really good Esme."

Esme smiled. "Thank you." They finished their lunch and Jasper jumped up.

"Who wants to play Rockband?"

"I will," Emmett responded as he jumped up and headed towards the living room. Jasper turned to Edward.

"Sounds fun, but I should probably get us set up in my room and take over watching Gabe while Bella gets ready."

Alice shook her head. "I'll take care of Gabe if you want. That way you can go play with your brothers."

Jasper looked at Edward pleadingly. "Come on man, we need a singer." Edward rolled his eyes.

"Alright." He kissed Bella's cheek and followed his brothers into the living room. Alice took Gabriel and Rosalie and Bella helped Esme clean up the kitchen. From the kitchen Bella could hear Edward singing. She loved the sound of his voice. She stood in the doorway of the living room and watched him. He looked over at her and smiled. She returned the smile.

"I should probably get ready to go," she said to Alice and Esme. "Are you sure you don't mind watching him Alice?"

"Not at all. I love him." Bella smiled.

"Thanks Alice." She picked up her bag and headed up to Edward's old room. She changed her clothes then headed back downstairs. She went into the living room and waited until they finished the song they were on. "Edward, I should get going."

"Already?"

"Yeah, it's going to take me a little while to get there." Edward put the microphone down and came to stand in front of Bella. He wrapped his arms around her.

"I'll miss you."

She kissed him. "I won't be gone that long. Are you going to be okay with Gabe?"

He smiled. "I think Alice is handling things quite well."

"Just make sure you help her out okay."

"Of course I will."

"I'll see you later." She kissed him again. "I'll love you."

"I love you too."

"Can I have your keys?"

"Oh right…you might need those. Are you sure you want to take the Volvo? Have you looked in the garage? I bet Carlisle would let you take the Mercedes."

"I would be worried about wrecking a Mercedes." She held out her hand and he dropped the keys to the Volvo into it. "Thank you, sweetheart." She kissed him one more time then went and kissed Gabriel's forehead. "Be good for Daddy and Aunt Alice." She headed out the door and got in the car. After a short drive she was pulling up in front of the church.

"Bella hey!" She got out of the car and looked towards the door. Jacob was running toward the car.

"Hey Jake! Are my parents in there?" He nodded.

"And my dad."

"Is he doing better?"

Jacob hesitated. "Well, not really, but he didn't want to miss Charlie's wedding. He's feeling a little better. Come on, let's get in. Your dad's anxious to start." He took Bella's hand and led her into the church. She saw her mom and dad up at the alter talking to the minister. Billy was sitting in his chair beside Charlie. Jacob led Bella up to Billy. "Dad, you remember Bella?" Billy took her hand and smiled.

"Of course I do. Hello Bella."

"Hi Billy. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright. I guess Jake told you I've been sick?" Bella nodded.

"Do you know what's wrong." Billy shook his head.

"Old age. Charlie told me you got married and had a baby." Bella nodded again. "Is he nice?"

"Edward is amazing."

"I'm glad you found somebody."

"Alright," Charlie said, "let's get this started." Bella and her mom went outside with Jacob.

"I get to walk you down the aisle," Jacob said, holding his arm out to Bella. She smiled and hooked her arm in his.

"Now sweetie, you're just going to go on ahead of me," Renee said. Music started playing and Jacob started Bella down the aisle.

"Don't fall down," he whispered. Bella almost started laughing.

"Me fall down?" Jacob snickered, but quickly composed himself when he saw Billy staring at him.

"Shh, Bella, we're at a wedding." They made it up to the front of the church and took their places on either side of Charlie and Renee. The minister took them through the wedding and before Bella knew it Charlie was talking about dinner. Bella looked at the clock and saw that it was 7 o'clock.

"I should get back to Edward soon."

"You're not going to dinner with us?" Jacob pouted.

"I'll go, but I really shouldn't stay gone too long."

Renee nodded in agreement. "I'm exhausted."

"Let's just go have a quick dinner," Charlie suggested.

"Sounds good dad," Bella replied. They agreed on a place and all went out to their separate vehicles and drove to the restaurant. During dinner Bella caught up with Billy and Jacob. She was so absorbed that she lost track of time. She finally looked down at her phone. "Holy crow! It's eleven o'clock."

"We should get going," Renee said. Charlie nodded and signaled for the bill. After he paid they said their goodbyes and she and Renee headed out to the Volvo. Bella drove back to the Cullen's. There were no lights on when they got there.

"I guess everyone is asleep," Bella said. She grabbed Renee's things out of the car and let them into the house. After she got her mom set up in the guest room she went into Edward's room. She went over to the crib where Gabriel was sleeping soundly. "Goodnight sweetheart." She changed into her sleep clothes and brushed her teeth; then she slid into bed next to Edward.

"I thought you said you wouldn't be gone long," he mumbled sleepily. She kissed him.

"I'm sorry baby, I lost track of time." She wrapped her arms around him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." He pulled her close. "Goodnight, Bella."

"Goodnight, Edward." He quickly fell back asleep. She watched him for a long time and she smiled. She hoped that her parents' marriage would be as amazing as her and Edward's. She couldn't wait to get to the wedding in the morning and watch Renee and Charlie pledge their love to each other. She laid her head on Edward's chest and drifted off.

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"Bella, get up. We have to do your hair and get you dressed." Bella stirred and opened her eyes. She looked around and found Edward sitting in a rocking chair in the corner holding Gabriel.

"She's been yelling for you for the last half hour," he told her.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

He shrugged. "You came in late. I thought it was important for you to sleep." He came over and laid Gabriel on her chest. "He wanted to see you." Bella smiled and wrapped her arms around Gabriel.

"Good morning baby." Edward leaned down and kissed Bella softly.

"I'm going to go get you some breakfast and tell Alice you're awake so she'll stop shouting," he said before turning and leaving the room. Bella held Gabriel and sat up. Alice poked her head into the room.

"Bella, we don't have very long to get you ready."

"I'll be up soon. Edward said he was going to make me some breakfast. How's my mom doing?"

Alice sat down on the bed and stroked Gabriel's arm. "She's really nervous, but her hair looks amazing. Rosalie just got finished with it."

"Rosalie should start a salon."

"She was talking about it. She used to work in a salon before Becca was born." The door opened and Edward came back in with a plate of pancakes. Bella handed Gabriel to Alice and took the plate from him.

"Thank you, sweetheart." She quickly ate her breakfast. "Okay Alice, do your worst." She got up. Alice handed Gabriel to Edward then guided Bella out of the room. She took Bella into her and Jasper's room where Rosalie was working on Renee's make-up. Renee looked over when Bella entered.

"Good morning, sweetie. How do I look?"

"Mom, you look amazing. Are you excited?"

"I really am. I can't wait to see Charlie." Alice sat Bella down on the bed and started working on her hair.

"I bet dad's really excited to see you too. I know he's been waiting for this for a long time."

Renee teared up. "He's such a sweet man. I love him so much." Alice quickly finished Bella's hair then came around to work on her make-up.

Rosalie stepped back to look at her work. "I think we should wait until we get them to the church to put their dressed on them." Alice nodded in agreement.

"There, I'm done." She stood and looked at Bella. "You look amazing." There was a soft knock on the door.

"We should probably head to the church soon," Edward said softly.

"Come on mommy," Rebecca commanded.

"We're coming," Alice answered. Alice got in her closet and pulled out Renee and Bella's dresses. "You and Renee are going to ride with Edward to the church. Rosalie and I are going to get ourselves ready and we'll meet you there." Bella took her dress and opened the door. Edward was standing outside in his suit holding Gabriel.

"Wow," Bella breathed. "You look so handsome."

"Thank you. You're breathtaking," Edward answered. "Are you ready to go?" Bella and Renee nodded. They said goodbye to everyone and followed Edward out to the car. He put Gabriel in his seat and helped Renee and Bella into the car then got in and drove to the church. Renee and Bella went in through the back and into the room they were supposed to get dressed in.

"Bella, do you think it will work this time?"

"I really do think so mom. I think you and dad have grown and I really think you can do this." She hugged her mom. "Come on, let's get dressed." She helped her mother into her dress. "Mom, wow." Renee smiled.

"Alright, let's get you into your dress." Soon the two of them were dressed and ready to go. Alice stuck her head in.

"How is it going?" She saw them in their dresses. "Oh wow, the two of you look great!"

Bella laughed. "Thank you Alice."

"It's time to go out there so I'm going to sit down. See you out there." Alice left to go find her seat.

Renee gasped. "Bella do I look okay?"

"You look fine mom, let's get out there." She took her mom's arm and led her out into the hall. Jacob was waiting for them. He whistled when he saw Bella. "Careful Jake." He laughed and held out his arm. She took it and a deep breath then her and Jacob made their way down the aisle to where Charlie was standing. He smiled at Bella as she took her place. His head snapped towards the door as the music started and Renee made her way down the aisle. She came to stopped next to him.

"Hey," Renee whispered.

"Hey," Charlie answered. The minister started the ceremony. Bella's eyes wandered to the front row where Edward was sitting. She smiled and mouthed _I love you_. He mouthed back to her and smiled her favorite smile. Before Bella knew the minister was pronouncing them husband and wife and Charlie pulled Renee into a soft sweet kiss.

After congratulating the bride and groom, everyone made their way down to the church's kitchen for the reception. Edward and Bella sat down at the table together and Bella laid her head on Edward's shoulder. "Look at them, Edward. They're so happy." Edward kissed her softly.

"As happy as us," he whispered. "I love you Bella. You looked really great up there."

"Thanks Edward." She kissed him then looked back at her parents who were dancing slowly gazing lovingly into each other's eyes. Watching them, she knew they could make it this time. She looked back at Edward and down at Gabriel. She hoped that Renee and Charlie would find the kind of happiness she had with Edward.

A/N: Wow it took me a long time to write this one. Christmas happened and I got busy with cleaning and whatnot. This is probably my last regular chapter. I am probably going to be writing an epilogue and I'll try to have it up soon. Enjoy.


	20. Epilogue

A/N: Thank you to everyone who read, faved, and commented on my story.

Disc: I don't own Twilight

Eternal

Epilogue

"Bella! Can you bring those balloons in on your way?"

"Yes." Bella came into the kitchen and handed the bag of balloons to Alice. "I think I heard Gabe moving around in there. I hope he's not really awake. I'm not ready for him to be up yet."

"It's okay. Edward can keep him occupied."

"Edward's still-"

"I'm still what?" Edward said wrapping his arms around Bella. Bella jumped slightly then leaned back against Edward.

"Still at the store."

"Nope I'm home."

"I can see that. Did you get it?" Edward's brow furrowed in confusion. "You got it right?"

"What?"

"Edward…" He held up his hands in surrender and picked a box up off of the counter behind him. Bella breathed a sigh of relief.

"I wouldn't forget my baby's first birthday cake."

"Thank you, Edward." She gave him a soft kiss.

"The place looks great."

Alice flashed him a wide smile. "Thank you. I've been at this all day." Gabriel started crying from the other room.

"I'll go get him," Edward said. "When are people getting here?"

"Jasper's back in our room wrapping presents, Rosalie and Emmett were bathing and dressing Becca and should be on their way now, and our parents left about a half hour ago and should be here soon," Bella replied. Edward nodded then went to get Gabriel up. Bella smiled as she watched him leave. "He's so wonderful."

"Focus Bella. People will be here soon." Alice shoved a bag of balloons into Bella's hand. Bella began blowing up the balloons.

"You know Gabe isn't even going to notice all of this."

"Humor me Bella. If anything, it'll make the pictures look good." Bella and Alice were finishing blowing up the balloons, when the bell rang and Rosalie and Emmett came in. Rebecca ran up and hugged Bella tightly.

"Hi, aunt Bella!"

"Hey sweetie!" Bella swung Rebecca up into her arms and hugged her tightly. Emmett set a package on the counter.

Rebecca pointed to it. "That's for Gabriel."

"That's very sweet. Thank you." She handed Rebecca over to Emmett.

"Is there anything I can do?" Rosalie asked. Bella shook her head.

"I think we just about have everything finished. The parents are on their way. You guys can just hang out and have fun." Edward came back into the room carrying Gabriel. Bella gasped. "He looks so cute. Where did he get that outfit?"

"I stopped off at the mall before I got the cake and bought him a birthday outfit."

"I love it." Bella held out her arms and took Gabriel. "There's my birthday boy." She nuzzled his cheek. There was a soft knock on the door. Edward opened it and was face to face with Bella's mother. She was carrying several packages.

"Renee, let me get those for you." Edward took the packages from her.

"Thank you Edward." She stepped inside. Charlie came in behind her carrying a large box.

"Hey Edward." He shook Edward's hand. "You a doctor yet?"

"Not quite. I have one more year of being an intern. Is that a bed?"

"Yeah. Bella mentioned that Gabe was outgrowing his crib, so we got him a bed. It's really neat. It's got side bars like a crib, but you can take them off and turn it into a real bed."

"Thanks Charlie." Charlie leaned the bed back up against the wall.

"Thank you dad?" Bella said coming over and giving him a hug. "Do you guys need a crib?" Charlie shook his head.

"I kept your old crib and some of your old clothes."

"My old clothes might not work." Charlie smiled.

"They'll work."

"It's a girl?" Charlie nodded.

"Don't tell your mom I told you, it's supposed to be a surprise to everyone." Bella hugged Charlie again. "Are you sure you're okay with this sweetheart?"

"Dad, I've always wanted to know what it would be like to have a sibling. She's almost due. I've gotten time to get used to the idea."

"Who are we waiting on?" Alice called from the kitchen.

Edward took a quick head count. "Mom and dad," he answered. As if summoned the door opened and Esme and Carlisle came in.

"Did we miss anything?" Esme asked.

"We wouldn't start the party without you mom." Edward hugged her softly. He moved and hugged his dad.

"Let's get started," Alice said.

"Edward, can you bring the cake over here?" Bella asked. Everyone gathered around the table and Edward put a candle in the cake and lit it. He set it down on the table and they sang happy birthday to Gabriel. After they finished, Bella helped Gabriel blow out the candles. Edward smiled as he looked around at his family. Almost two years ago he had been separated from his family, and in a relationship that was certain to go nowhere good. He couldn't believe how lucky he had gotten. He still had a hard time believing that Bella had fallen in love with him and agreed to marry him. Here she was, his wife, holding their baby.

Bella looked up at him and smiled. He returned her smile then went to stand next to her. He kissed her softly then took Gabriel so that she could serve the cake. They had made it through one year together and he was looking forward to many more.

A/N: That's the end of it. I hope you enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it.


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